I acquired these 6 chairs at a deceased estate auction recently - not advertised as Eames. They are in various states of disrepair - all have had holes drilled through the shells, 2 have original gliders but the rubber is perished. the frames appear to have been a greenish colour and have solid legs. There are no stickers but there is glue on the bases where a sticker once was. Any advice appreciated!
http://eamesdcmchairs.weebly.com/
back tabs are odd
I agree that the back tabs are odd but the underside of the seat looks correct and it looks like it had the rectangle Herman Miller label. The spacing and the size of the shock mounts on the underside of the seast also looks correct. I still think they are right even though they are trashed.
Though I've never seen a vintage knock-off of a DCM
That is what your chairs look like. There is very little that looks correct for any generation Evans or Herman Miller production. Not the frames, not the glides, not the shockmounts, not even the wood veneer. The seats and backs are close, but it would be interesting to compare the measurements to authentic DCMs.
Where are you located? I know there are some differences in the Herman Miller and Vitra production Eames lounge, most notably the base. I don't know if there is any difference in the US and European production DCM. Any European forum members have hands-on experience with vintage DCMs?
Too many details wrong nico59
While you are correct that the spacing of the shockmounts is very close, if not correct. They appear too thick to me. Also, the center shockmount under the seat should have a much smaller screw than the two front ones. The frames are tubular as evidenced by the type of glide (one I've never seen used on any generation Herman Miller DCM) so the center screw under the seat should be very slender. The only DCMs that had 3 matching screws under the seat were early production with the solid frame. Plus, look at the residue from the disconnected shockmount, Looks like there is a round metal component that was at the surface of the shockmount where it attaches to the seat. Not the case with HM production.
Likewise the residue from the label. It's not the correct size for the Herman Miller silver rectangular label. It's longer and thinner.
Also, just look at the color and finish of the wood veneer. Have you ever seen a Herman Miller DCM with that tone and finish? What kind of wood is it? Looks a bit like birch, but I've had many vintage Herman Miller DCMs and not one ever had that kind of color to the wood. They could have been stained at some point, but there us usually evidence of that on the underside and I see none.
There is no detail shot of the edge of the seat or back. I'd be curious to see the thickness and count the plys.
maybe?
I concede, you may be right. I have seen many variations in manufacturing details of Herman Miller products and it seems they are always looking for ways to reduce production cost. That said, I assumed that the variations in the frame here were a result of that. I as well have never seen an old knock offs DCM's which made me think these were some type of transition production chairs. However, after reviewing the pictures closely again there are too many details wrong. I don't like the tabs for the back, I don't like the top of the upright bar that supports the backrest, and I don't like the shape of the seat and back, I assumed that the issues with those were just due to the perspective of the photos.
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Can't help with that, I read about it in an article years ago and they don't turn up often, the ones I've seen before with the HM sticker were upholstered in black vinyl.
It certainly adds a bit of fuzz to notions of authenticity, perhaps they weren't producing the chairs to an agreed standard or the market just wasn't there. The only thing I can think of is to contact Herman Miller, The Powerhouse Museum or any companies with a design or plywood moulding focus around at the time, Slorach, Framac, Aristoc (worked with Featherston) etc.
I'm in Toowoomba, so its nice to come across someone so close to home, good luck with the chairs, if they were mine I'd be tempted to do a full strip and spray job, replace all the fasteners and feet and forget about 'patina'. But of course they're not though it'd be nice to see some photos when you're finished with them.
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