Rago Auctions

Pieces from the collection of children’s furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1945 are the earliest forms to be produced by the duo. The children’s furniture designs marked the first attempt for a larger production run of the experimental development of molded plywood chairs. The small scale of the table, chair and stools as well as the ease of construction allowed Molded Plywood and Evans Products to slowly transition into the manufacturing of furniture and to find the best methods for production. Further, these pieces were the first consumer goods produced and marketed by the industrial supply company.

Despite the use of molded plywood by designers such as Marcel Breuer and Alvar Aalto as early as the 1930s, the Eames designs illustrate an advancement of technology. Each of the works in the collection feature uniformity of material as well as compound curves for strength. The production of the children’s furniture was short-lived, yet these pieces opened the door for the mass-production and distribution of the Eames plywood designs such as the DCW, LCW and CTW.   

Shortly after getting married in June 1941, Charles and Ray Eames drove across the country to California to begin a decades-long residence in Los Angeles. Upon moving into the newly built Strathmore Apartments—designed by new acquaintance Richard Neutra—they set up the Eames Office, where they would experiment and hone their craft. Quite the honeymoon! Their experiments in this apartment included endless hands-on, trial-and-error tests using a tool they invented, the “Kazam!” machine,” which would be the precursor to their pioneering molded plywood process. 

A partnership with Evans Products, a design produced for wartime efforts, and a move to a new Venice location followed. In 1946, George Nelson and D.J. De Pree visited Charles’ Museum of Modern Art, New York exhibition featuring this molded plywood furniture and a deal was struck for Herman Miller to start selling Eames designs—and a few years later, the rights to the entire line, including a deal with the design duo. The Eameses would go on to design several more iconic products for Herman Miller, with Charles and Ray guiding the approach to design, materials, marketing, manufacturing, and quality control. The popularity of Eames designs around the world pushed Herman Miller to become a global company.