I recently bought 4 Eames shell chairs that at one point had been upholstered/covered (they have shock mounts and no extra holes) and have a painted greyish back (I believe this is factory?) They have no embossed logo (but the shape is un-mistake able) I have bought chairs before with that painted grey back (thinking some idiot had done it) and stripped it off with hours of sanding and swearing. My question is- does anyone know the when/why for the lack of markings? Whats the story with that ugly grey? And is there some kind of magical stripper that might take that paint off the back easily?
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Lemon Yellow
Was one of the early shell colors. I believe you are correct that shells were not embossed with Herman Miller until the late 1950s. The shock mounts with holes are also indicative of early production. Many of the early covered shells had factory-painted backs (presumably to be more neutral).
no holes!
actually there are no extra holes, the seller said that the covers were taped down (not factory I'm guessing) I'm so excited to have a full matched set and just want to know every detail!
Any thoughts on removing the grey? It makes them look a little dirty, I did this with a lemon armchair awhile back and it look so 'light' and pretty, but sanding took hours and I don't want to risk damaging them.
I would assume many early production did not have the emboss..
Early upholstered chairs ( started around 1953 ) were covered with a single cover, with foam only in certain areas..with a wire frame to hold them on with tension. These tended to fall off over time. Not until later did they sew them on. The backs were painted to keep the color uniform. These early upholstered chairs were usually B grades considered defective.
So many painted backed shells are just remainders of the coverless upholstered production.
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