Image source: Herman Miller — Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair LCW
© Herman Miller and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair LCW
The 1946 Eames lounge chair on molded plywood legs, with rubber shock mounts and a low seat.
559 × 664 × 635 mm
1946
9.1 kg
Approx. $2,600 (reference price; varies by region and retailer)
Official product information
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Description
Overview
The Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair Wood Base (LCW) by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller is the low, wide lounge version of the Eames molded plywood chairs. Herman Miller's timeline records the Molded Plywood Lounge Chair as introduced in 1946; it was discontinued in 1957 and reintroduced in 1994. The LCW pairs a separate molded seat and back with a sculpted plywood base, giving the chair a light visual profile and a seat that is shaped to the body rather than cushioned.
Construction
The seat and back are molded five-ply plywood; the legs and back brace are eight-ply. Rubber shock mounts join the seat and back to the frame and buffer against jarring movement. Veneers are walnut, white ash, white oak, santos palisander, red-stained ash or black-stained ash, and an upholstered seat and back are optional. The chair comes fully assembled with an Authenticity Certificate.
Specifications
- Dimensions: H 26⅛" (664 mm), W 22" (559 mm), D 25" (635 mm)
- Seat: height 15½" (394 mm), width 22" (559 mm), depth 19" (483 mm)
- Weight: 20 lb (about 9.1 kg); weight capacity 240 lb
- Manufacturer SKU (non-upholstered, Santos Palisander): LCW.9N
Story
From wartime splints to a chair
In the early 1940s Charles and Ray Eames experimented with molding wood under heat and pressure. Their discoveries led to a commission from the US Navy for molded plywood splints, stretchers and glider shells. After the war they applied the same technology to affordable, mass-producible chairs that relied on shaped surfaces instead of cushioned upholstery. When a single plywood shell could not withstand the stress where seat met back, they split the chair into separate molded seat and back panels.
Introduced in 1946
Herman Miller's timeline lists the Molded Plywood Chair and Molded Plywood Lounge Chair as introduced in 1946, the year the Museum of Modern Art showed "New Furniture Designed by Charles Eames". Herman Miller gained exclusive distribution rights to the molded plywood products in 1947. Time magazine later named the Eames molded plywood chair the "Design of the Century".
More by Charles and Ray Eames
Occasional Table LTR
Eames low occasional table of 1950 with a steel-wire rod base and wood, HPL, linoleum or marble top.
Soft Pad Chair EA 223
Eames stool for the EA 222 lounge chair, with a sewn-on cushion and an aluminium base, 1969.
Plywood Group DCW
Eames' Dining Chair Wood: made entirely of moulded plywood, 1945/1946.
Eames Chaise
The 1968 Eames Chaise, an 18-inch-wide leather chaise on a die-cast aluminum frame.
Collection
Eames Collection
The Eames Collection at Herman Miller: molded plywood chairs (1946), molded plastic chairs, Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, storage units and Hang-It-All.
