Eames Wire Mesh Chair, 1951

Wire Mesh chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1952 for Herman Miller.

The Eames office created a catalogue of landmark seating designs that married creative innovation with industrial production. The formed wire mesh chair was one such design. It was envisaged whilst production of the fibreglass seating was underway. The same seat shape and variety of base options were used. The method of joining the steel rods was based on resistance-welding technique, already used on their LTR and Eiffel bases.

The chair was available with detachable upholstered pads, either fully covering the seat or a two-piece shaped pad. The extensive base options married with renewable upholstery ensured for a wide variety of applications.

Although other metal mesh chairs had been made, the Eames design was lighter in weight through spacing of structural members. The design proved more versatile with the numerous base and upholstery options and the wire chair soon became an iconic image associated with the Eames design studio.

The chair offered is from the first production period with early Eiffel Tower base and original tweed ‘bikini’ cover.