Fiberglass Side Shell
Charles Eames, Ray Eames
This is a special artifact in the collection. The uniform and consistent appearance is something Charles said was “always the objective.” This experimental shell was made with the same process used to produce earlier shells with one exception—they added a screen. This extra step filtered longer glass threads, which created the fibrous appearance. The result was a smooth, fine-grained texture, particularly apparent on the back of the shell. It was a step on the way to new fiberglass chairs introduced by Charles and Ray in the 1970s.
A note taped to the bottom of the shell handwritten in red ink reads, “DICK—THIS CHAIR IS PREFORMED SAME AS PRESENT CHAIRS IN LINE. DIFFERENCE IS THE VEILED PROCESS. DO NOT HAVE COST YET BUT WILL BE MORE EXPENSIVE OF COURSE. IF INTERESTED CALL ME FOR MORE DETAILS. ROG.” There is a white, rectangular sticker handwritten in red ink, “VEILED PERFORM” and handwritten in black ink, “Part A, TRB 1051-62”.
- Medium:Fiberglass
- Dimensions:17 x 18 x 18 in. (43.2 x 45.7 x 45.7 cm)
- Design Date:1952
- Item:2019.2.278
