my chair was sold to me as early
yes, my cushions have a round popper top and bottom and at both sides a larger round disc with a kind of spike that locates in a hole with a metal eyelet on the cushion back, so each cushion has four points at which its fixed. The chair wood doesnt show any sighs of fixings having ever been in different places.
If this type of fixing is early then I am beginning to accept that my chair is early, I suspect my cushions are original , as they are disappointly worn on the chair, the ottoman is great.
I suspect however that the original down was replaced with the down and foam mix. This chair was supposed to have been strored since the early 1980s so could have been restuffed prior to that.
So my search for an entirely original early chair goes on- i must find one or at least one where I cant tell whats been replaced.
I can post images of the chair, its cushion fixings and its remaining labels at some point when i know how to do it
If you go to Imageshack (http...
If you go to Imageshack ( http://www.imageshack.us), you can sign up for free image hosting. You upload your pictures there. When you do so, they will give you a URL that can be put into the "associate web images (optional)" box when you write a posting on this forum.
Also, if you manage to get your seat cushion off, you can swap the seat and ottoman cushions. This is recommended by HM...once every 6 months IIRC.
fm
will post image but..
have a look at ebay 110191049101 . Mine lacks any round Hermam Miller label ( i am told they fall off). Both chair and ottoman have the same label as on ebay. If this is such an early label how come it says 50% foam- i thought it should be 100% down.
Mine has what I think is an early cushion attachment- two round discs with hooks and two round poppers.
The two back cushions are actually all natural - labels say 40% grey duck down, 60% grey duck feather. on the inside of the shell backs is stamped the number 124 and inside one of the back cushions on the material that's stuffed with the feather/down is written Herman Miller E124 Back Unit PO 7188 KL.
Haven't checked out seat and ottoman cushions except that ottoman does have a hunk of foam- probably 50% as per the chair and ottoman base labels.
So it all looks to be original to the chair shell but when can this date from and how come if its early has it got foam in it
From the horses mouth
I just got the document I cited earlier from Herman Miller. It states the following:
"There are several ways you can tell the age of a lounge chair. Old style clips (cushion attachment) used up to early 1960. Old style clips have only two clips in the back - new style have five clips on the back. Cushions filled with down feathers - used until around ca. 1971. The cushions can come off by releasing the snaps on the cushions and pulling up on the back cushions and forward on the seat cushions. Rubber (not plastic) grommets used to support back braces until mid 1960s. "
It goes on to say that Rosewood veneer was discontinued in March 1990 due to it being an endangered wood.
Note that they don't specifically say anything about using a mix of down and foam, but this obviously occurred sometime, most likely in the 60s. I have another source that I'm waiting on that may clarify this.
So based on the above data, it would appear that you have an early 60s or late 50s chair. The HM doc didn't say anything about when they switched to a mix of down and foam. I find it odd that your back cushions are all down but your seat and ottoman cushions are a mix. Perhaps they started using a mix of down an foam earlier than others speculate? I never checked my old cushions to see if they were completely down.
I'm hoping my other source of info will clarify this.
fm
from the 25 chairs that...
from the 25 chairs that have been HM that we have recovered most are from the 70's and 80's
the 90's chairs were no big deal and have the lowest resale today, and we have redone very few of them,
the 70's 80's have the highest resale
the mix poly started in the late 60's as i can honestly say none of the ones that have come in that are from that period have down in it, they all come in with a pancake look and they all need a new wrap to plump them up and after that they look great, We always use the old product and add new to it,
The early ones have beautiful rosewood, from the 60 to the the late 80 as you are aware,
was 100% feather/down only ever the back cushions
Fungus Mungus dates the change in cushion clip style to early 1960 so any chair with that must be pretty damn early.
My holy grail was an early chair , down filled , in as new condition. unrealistic I
suppose but I have an early chair, old style cushion attachments. 153 W Rosecrans Ave address on label to chair and ottoman bases which I am told is early.
Both of these labels say 50% foam - and thats how the chair seat and ottoman cushions are- but the back cushions are all feather/down and labelled as such inside.
So perhaps seats always contained foam -so 100% down which i am looking for only ever meant the back cushions???
A chair I have seen which i think is later has a foam/ feather and down mix but has upped the foam to 75%. Perhaps there were always options available?
Does anyone have a chair which every cushion is 100% down/feather with no foam and is clearly labelled as such???
Hate to disagree
but I think the early clips were not changed in the early 1960s, but rather 1971. If you look into buying new replacement cushions, you'll see that they make that distinction: http://highbrowfurniture.com/seating/products/67071/
We have had several Eames lounge chairs, and when unless they were altered at some point, when they had down cushions, they were all down-filled. Seat, back, ottoman. More often than not there have been no labels present, but all you have to do is pop one off and you can tell the difference. The down filled cushions weigh almost twice as much, the down settles so it has a different look with age, and if you are still in doubt, you can unzip the covers and peek inside.
I'm just taking my info...
I'm just taking my info directly from HM's archive. The HM document clearly states that the switchover from down to foam happened in 1971. The clips, according to them, changed in the early 60s. Now, I supposed the archivists at HM could have gotten it all wrong, but I dunno...
Maybe I can get more clarification from my other sources, but until HM tells me otherwise, I'm inclined to take their word over a company that sells replacement parts for these chairs (that are not NOS parts, IIRC).
fm
look forward to hearing from your other source
Is the archivist a personal friend or can I bother him directly.
Just for clarification, did he say early 1960 or early 1960s. i would like to think I can date my chair to early 1960 - its almost the 50s!
I sure wish someone would have taken the endless opportunities provided by the chair, ottoman and cushion labels to fill in the date of delivery.
we see so many of those ...
we see so many of those chairs, most are from the 60's with the round clips. We might have had a few late 50 but there is no difference.
the leather is so dry you can crack it with looking at it, A lot of the chairs that come in are from the 70s with the streight clips.
The one thing that i always tell every one . that we are trying to save, is the plastic pads we resew and reuse them, as the earlier ones had great air holes, and they truly are impossible to get your hands on.
I have a feeling and i am no expert since you have contacted the archivest at HM to guide you in your search on the birth of your chair, but I think HM stuffed some chairs with down, some with poly fill and a poly fill wrap.
they all come in that way, so in the 50 years most of these chairs have changed hands at least once, and someone had to have something changed in them cause very few are in the original from day one.
No, the archivist just...
No, the archivist just responded by supplying me with the document I discussed earlier in this thread. The document (not the archivist) stated that the clips were changed in early 1960.(I know I said 1960s in a previous post, but it actually said 1960, singular). If you contact HM directly and ask to speak to their archives department, you should be able to pick their brains. I would rather not post an email address in this forum as they have not given me permission to do so.
The doc, as I stated earlier, makes no mention of switching from all down to a mix of down and foam, so I have no idea, based on this document, when this happened. I am awaiting another book that supposedly will clear this up.
Here is the info you'll need to contact the archives. I'd be interested in hearing what you find out.
"Where can I go to get my antique furniture authenticated to validate that it's really a Herman Miller product?
Herman Miller archives personnel can help identify Herman Miller furniture. Just send a snapshot or illustration of the product along with a letter of request to:
Herman Miller Archives, 855 E. Main Avenue, P.O. Box 302, Zeeland, MI 49464-0302.
Because of the vast number of products made in our history, which spans over 100 years, it is not possible to identify products through oral description. Please write to us with photos. Because of the number of such requests we receive, the answer to your request may take a few weeks' time. We appreciate your patience."
Hope this helps.
fm
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com