Weird. This was my first...
Weird. This was my first eames chair and I had it for a while. It was missing a shock mount so I order one from ebay but when it arrived I realized they were different and it wouldn't work, so I left it that way.
I just took the screws off for the first time and this is what it looks like. They do look like rubber washers and they were unglued. Date on the upholstery tag is 1971.
[broken links]
This was normal for 70's shells....
From the Eames Office website:
"By the time of this chair's manufacture, in 1971, the Eames Office was no longer using shock mounts, but had replaced them with loose rubber washers, that fit between the cast "spider" at the top of the base and the shell.
This is the original dated upholstery tag found on the underside of this chair."
See link:
http://www.eamesoffice.com/vintage/worksheet_detail.php?id=40
Bases
A large variety of bases were used on the shells.
The most common variants:
H (earlier X) base - with four straight legs
Stacking base - with wider shockmounts and a ganging mechanism on the sides.
Eiffel - thin wires, crisscrossing to resemble the tower
WoodDowel - tapered dowels connected by thin wires
Rocker - thin wires attached to wooden rockers. Mostly seen on the armshells.
Cast variants - a single pedestal ending in a cast aluminum base, usually with 4 (later 5) tines. 1958-present tines end in a crisp circular paw foot.
Some of the rarer variants:
Wall Saver - whose rear legs project about an inch behind the chair back. The feet would bump the baseboard before the chair back could gouge into the wall.
Lounge-X - four straight legs, rear legs kicked back to create a steeper angle
Med. Lounge-X - as above but a shallower angle
Cats Cradle - thin wires criss-crossing - quite low to the ground
Dowel Swivel - as the dowel above, but with a swivel mechanism.
In addition (and just to make things clear as mud) there are variants within most of the above styles. The Eames constantly tweaked products to make them better. In the illustration below (from Eames Collector) you can see all of the above, and some of the sub-iterations.
Eames early grey fiberglass chair
I have a chair on ebay that i got out of an estate. We think it is from 1949. It has a "the property of the marquardt corporation " label f marquardt co. worked in aviation in venice ca. and i think closed their doors in 1949.
I just found three tiny raised bumps in a triangle between the mounts but there is no z or any other markings. We believe this could be very early. The auction closes in two hours.. any thoughts on the mark?
oct. 11...
3 dots embossed... It's an S not a Z
I have not run across a chair with three dots embossed and nothing else.
Also, about earlier posts left about the three dots and a "Z" in the middle of them.... technically, its not a Z. I have one chair that has the three dots and an "S" that is shaped like a Z, but its not a "Z" because it would be a backwards if it was a "Z". Its just a zig zaggy "S" to me...
Any info would be appreciated about this point...?
3 dots in a triangle.. what is the general consensus?
Turns out I did have one of those "three dots in a triangle and no other markings" chairs... These seem to recognized as later Zenith shells.
So if the three dots in a triangle indicate the last of the Zenith shell production, what about that S that looks like a backwards Z in the center of the three dots?
It would seem to have to be a Zenith marking. (Backwards Z) rather than an S, correct?
If it was Summit, then how could the three dots in a triangle without the letter mean Zenith?
What is the general consensus?
Hijack alert...H.Miller Vitra shells
Sorry to hijack this thread rather, but I've been lurking around wondering when to chip in with a little question, and seeing as this is alive with knowledge I thought I'd pipe up.
I have 4 black fibreglass LAR, they are marked V and have HM on the large shock rubbers. So they're Herman Miller/Vitra - thick fibreglass. I bought them in the Netherlands, and was told they dated from 1959. They did have a fabric seat, but the dealer had ripped these off, and cleaned the seats so now they're sans any edging, and each has the hole in base of the shell.
I've had these stored dismantled in our other house for about 6 years because I can't decide whether (if it's possible) to have the fabric re-done, or if I should have the edges smoothed (maybe have the inner/upper face of the shell gel-coated?) - and because it just isn't possible to have any of these things done where they are, they'd need to come back to the UK - hence they're sad and redundant. I'd like to deal with them in the most appropriate way - has anyone taken on a set of ex-fabric shells?
Thanks - I'll shut up now 😉 Claire
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