EC-127  

EC127
In 1970 a chair adapted form the plywood dining chair was produced for Herman Miller by the Eames Office, working with Sol Fingerhut at Century Plastics. Fingerhut had perfected a way to produced the chair back and seat in a plastic resin with the shockmount structures molded into the form. They were produced from 1971-1981.

Thanx, Whitespike
Thanks alot...funny that this is not mentioned in the Herman Miller books that show the chairs as part of the Eames collection of the past. They are correctly listed as EC-127, but not much else.
Thanx again!

No problem! This info was...
No problem! This info was lifted from Eames Design. It's a great book. Take care.

we have redone a lot of...
we have redone a lot of the ec 127 as it is fairly easy to redo and can be redone by almost any one
providing the foam is intact and not worn out,
That chair had a very short life and was used only for a 10 year period I guess you could call the 70's the go go plastic era, I think they were cool and own a set of 4.
I have no idea cause it sure makes up nice after beeing redone. almost 100 percent of those chairs ended up in institutes colleges, schools, hospitals and the library .
as most that we have seen always bares some inventory sticker of the place they were at.

Everyone wants plywood, but...
Everyone wants plywood, but this is the most comfortable Eames dining height chair. I have one in storage. I have no use for it right now, but I am also not real keen on the color of the vinyl. It's bright green. Mine has a white back, and I think Jacob's Coat by Girard would look swell on it. It's in terrific shape however.

Your right, White....
It is a supremely comfortable dining chair. Luckily the greyish back on the plastic matches the grey edge on my table.
It is just a perfect example of how I've stumbled on good stuff;
I wanted to buy two-tone Nelson Swag chairs and a Noguchi dining table. God, wouldn't that had looked beautiful?
Well, Herman Miller was having trouble with their non-white Swag chairs and the price of the Noguchi table was outrageous, so I found the chair on eBay. Less than $450.00 for the four of 'em!
Then, I asked a friend of mine who in the reupholstery business if he could think of any option....he mentioned that he had an Eames table for $75.00!!!
Boy, did that work out well...4 chairs and the table for less than two of the nelson chairs!

they are a great chairs ...
they are a great chairs really confy like you all said I would also add that they are a very forgotten chair in the Eames, Herman miller world.
I paid 35 bucks each for mine surplus at the library I recovered several in miller stripe, girard checker and Ray Eames pattern they look great,

Email from Vintage Eames
I emailed vintage Eames and got this very nice reply:
=================================
Good day.
We are currently working in on an on-line EAMES CATALOGUE RAISONNE in which we will document every Eames design. In the future, we will post a Catalogue entry for this EC127 and also some of the original sales literature.
This is an on-going research project. At this time, our research suggests that the EC127 went on sale, or was first introduced, in 1970. That is the first date on which it first appears in Herman Miller catalogues.
In the 1970 Herman Miller catalogue, the chair is heralded, as if for the first time, with these words:
"The new EC127, designed by Charles Eames, evolves from his classic molded plywood chair of 1946. The back has been brought forward creating less pitch and more back support. The seat and back are fiberglass reinforced plastic, foam padded and upholstered. Solid steel legs and frame are welded as one integral unit and chrome plated. Nylon glides."
In that first year of production the EC127 was available in three different colors of fiberglas: parchment, greige or black; the vinyl edge in black, neutral or charcoal,; and the upholstery in Naugahyde-- 31 colors, Nilo-- 30 colors or Hopsak-- 29 colors.
I did a quick survey of Herman Miller catalogues, in 1980 the EC127 was still offered.
The catalogues I have currently in hand jump from 1980 to 1994, by which time the EC127 was no longer in production. I am not sure how long it has been out of production, but I hope to post that information in the future on our vintage Eames pages.
In 1973, the book, CHARLES EAMES FURNITURE FROM THE DESIGN COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK was published. This book devotes two pages to the EC127 identifying it as "Side Chair 1969."
Arthur Drexler, author of the book and Design Director of MOMA, wrote: "the padded version (the EC127) of the 1946 plywood dining chair is so substantially altered in its appearance as to be virtually a "new" design. The major structural change is in materials: for this version seat and back shells are of plastic rather than wood, and each shell incorporates molded plastic housings containing metal units to which the legs and back support are bolted. An important visual change results from the technique of padding the plastic shells. Urethane foam is sandwiched between the shell and a "skin" of fabric or vinyl; the edges of the shells are then bound with a thick vinyl welt whose dimensions approximate those of the metal rod supports, thereby introducing a second set of lines complementing the legs. The combined modifications make lines visually more important than planes, although the new emphasis on soft surfaces is what occasioned the change."
end of part 1
http://www.eamesoffice.com/vintage/vintage_intro.php?id=1

Part 2
That final comment by Arthur Drexler shows that Drexler really understood the work of the Eames Office. Charles Eames always said that the fundamental principle of design is "recognition of need." Eames would not modify a chair solely for its appearance (and the original DCM was quite handsome, so why bother?), but he would modify a chair to accomodate the "need" for a softer surface.
MOMA is not the only museum to celebrate the EC127. There's a book, A MODERN CONSCIOUSNESS: D. J. DEPREE -- FLORENCE KNOLL, published for the National Collection of Fine Arts by the Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1975. The book was published on the occasion of an exhibition at the Renwick Gallery of the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (April 11 - November 9, 1975) and the Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (November 30, 1975 - January 11, 1976). The exhibition "salutes two individuals, Florence Knoll and D. J. DePree"(the Chairman of the Board of Herman Miller who undertook to produce all of the designs of the Eames Office), "who have helped to shape the course of modern design in furniture and to win for it international acceptance."
Among the many Eames and Knoll designs in the exhibition and catalogue, there was an EC127! Like the MOMA catalogue, this Smithsonian catalogue assigns 1969 as the date of the introduction of the EC127 design.
Perhaps we should go with that, although it seems that it appears first in a Herman Miller catalogue in 1970.
At this time I am not sure when the EC127 went out of production. In the future, when we post the EC127 to the on-line Catalogue Raisonne, we will publish that information.
You might enjoy the Vintage Eames pages as they are currently constituted. They begin at
http://www.eamesoffice.com/vintage/vintage_intro.php?id=1
When you go to that page please be sure to look on the RIGHT HAND SIDE and click on "Expand All" to see all the various pages.
Happy to answer your vintage Eames questions.
All best,
Vintage Eames
http://www.eamesoffice.com/vintage/vintage_intro.php?id=1

1970
Even though the Eames Design book siad they were available from 1971-1981 I believe I remember mine saying 1970 as the delivery date on the label.

Posted by: LRF

we have redone a lot of...
we have redone a lot of the ec 127 as it is fairly easy to redo and can be redone by almost any one
providing the foam is intact and not worn out,
That chair had a very short life and was used only for a 10 year period I guess you could call the 70's the go go plastic era, I think they were cool and own a set of 4.
I have no idea cause it sure makes up nice after beeing redone. almost 100 percent of those chairs ended up in institutes colleges, schools, hospitals and the library .
as most that we have seen always bares some inventory sticker of the place they were at.

Hi, I found your comment, when searching for how to reupholster Eames EC127's, that this is a pretty straightforward process.  I have some EC127's that I would like to reupholster.  Would you mind sharing some tips on the steps involved and any pitfalls to avoid.  In particular:

-  Can the rubber trim be simply pulled off?  Can the old trim be reused?

-  What adhesive do you suggest to reattach the trim?

Thanks.

they are a great chairs really confy like you all said I would also add that they are a very forgotten chair in the Eames

I have a pair of EC127's that are seeking a new home. They are in good shape but have the typical loosening of the edge molding, particularly at the seam. Can anybody recommend a material to repair this seam with? Would you recommend doing the repair before listing or giving a buyer the option of having the repair done? I see these for $300+ on 1stdibs, etc what is a realistic ask? 

$20 private sale, maybe $50 in a shop.