How to date an early Herman Miller lounge (gift from Paul Newman...)  

Honestly?-Very unimpressive wood grain
I looked over the pictures and would steer clear of this one.looks like the wood is very faded with minimal graining,which is what I look for.I have seen some beautiful ,highly figured models with incredible depth and contrast of grain.There is simply no character to the wood on this one,and NO amount of polishing will bring back the depth of the original finish despite what the seller claims.Plenty of real nice examples will find their way on Ebay, if you have patience.BTW-I think the 70's models are just as nice myself!

thanks for the reply.
the...
thanks for the reply.
the owner just emailed and told me that the chair was a gift from paul newman to his father 50 yrs ago, and said that newman was the owner's closest friend up until his death.
very interesting...if it's true.

there seems to be a repair
if you look at the fourth picture, it seems to me that this chair has been repaired under the armrest, at the spot where it usually breaks. Looking at that pic, it seems to me that the wood has been 'retouched' at the exact 2 fixation points where these chairs are usually 'trough-bolted' when repaired by amateurs...maybe worth asking the question if you really plan to buy this chair.
PS. Sorry for my bad english

I saw that blotchy spot on the veneer, under arm
my first thought was "repair".
You'd better ask, this seller seems a bit squirrely.

Not impressive
the most interesting thing about this is the possible Newman story - but you'd have a hell of a time proving it.
And - he says in the posting that his father bought the chair...
The graining of the wood is blah, the possible arm repair, and the pulling of the leather cushions on the seat. All those things would caution me away from this chair.

Very Fishy
Why would anybody say in their listing their father bought it, yet say in a private email it was a gift from a well known Hollywood star???
doesn't make sense

i'll ask
in short, i've wanted an early eames lounge for myself for awhile now and this one seems pretty clean and priced pretty very well...he said $2500 would buy it if i pick it up.
even with the arm (i'm going to ask about it now) and the lack of swirls in the grain i don't think i'll find a better price. my biggest question is of the actual date...does the 118 mean anything?
Jeremiah

just think we are all sm...
just think we are all smart enough to talk amongst ourselves to determine if it is worth the price or If this guy is just one big bull shitter !, I feel sorry for the rest of the gullible bidders.

Someone mentioned in the auction Q an A
that the number 118 is the production number for that year.
Not sure.
Mine has a 10 written in marker behind that same cushion. (70's?) And its a
beat up, twice repaired loser... but i still adore it. The cushions on mine
fit the contour of the frames perfectly.
The one you're wanting has an odd lifting as if it doesn't fit. And the finish is
muddy and has a gloss as if someone brushed a thick oil finish or tinted poly.
Just not right for the price.
The story means nothing and probably true.
The auction price will continue to rise. Doesn't the seller need to honor the
highest bid? (I've never sold anything.) Or can he pull it?
Just curious.
damn. Colts just lost.

Well...
It's over $2500 now, and he hasn't pulled it- but then neither would I..
(he can't now, with less than 12 hours left anyway)
In fact, why would you?- it has several serious bidders, and probably tons of watchers..

ebay rules
The seller can end the auction at any time, even just seconds before it would end anyway. Yes, he is obligated to sell to the highest bidder, but he can also cancel all bids before ending it early and then he's off the hook. He can do this for any reason or no reason at all. It is allowable. Canceling that many bids can take a few minutes, though. I've done it and had to be careful that no new bids were entered just before I hit the final "end auction" click. It's a pain.
The twelve hour rule is for making changes to the description or adding new information to the listing. This is to prevent sellers from essentially changing the whole deal without giving bidders a chance to reconsider whether they still want it. Sellers used to be able to say "Perfect item in wonderful condition!" and then seconds before it ended they could add "Except for the big scratch on the side, which I just noticed! Really, I JUST noticed it, I swear." Bidders could get out of having to pay, but it took a lot of wrangling. The twelve hour rule eliminates all that. If there is a legitimate need to add new information in the last twelve hours, the seller can cancel bids, end the auction, and relist it with the new information. I've done that, too.

We
have different rules on ebay UK it seems!
'You can't end a listing less than 12 hours before the end of the listing'

I questioned him about the...
I questioned him about the repair and he didn't have any knowledge, but said there was a chance that his father could have had work done to it. that being said, I dropped my offer to $2000 and he said we were close, but not quite there.
I do know for certain though that $2500 would have bought it, and likely anything over $2300.
in the auction he'll probably get close to $3000, but will have to go thru all the trouble to ship it (he said the high bidder was in france) AND pay ebay (which is getting pretty ridiculous price wise).

I wouldn't buy anything on eBay from a seller who would close the auction early
I think closing an auction early due to an off-eBay offer is sleazy and dishonest.
I have contacted sellers after the unsuccessful auction has closed and bought the item, but I would never assume to stoop to asking the seller to close off his auction so I could buy the item off-eBay.
...and I would tend to be nervous about a seller willing to do this, as well.