B.Billy Wilder, the filmmaker, got the first one. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India also had one. And so did the father of the American comic strip, “Dennis the Menace.”
Ownership of an elegant yet comfortable piece of furniture that was developed about 66 years ago was what this strange trio had in common.
The Lounge Chair and Footstool, Model Nos. 670 and 671 conceived in 1956-57, were the Eamses design for the luxury end of the market . The stuffed leather cushion of the chair rests atop a five-legged metal foundation on a laminated wooden bench. Of generous proportions and of hight quality material, the Lounge Chair projects a sense of executive power.
The Herman Miller company that produces the chair and its accompanying ottoman has sold 100, 000 of the lounge model since it was first unveiled on NBC’s “Home” display in March 1956 on the then very new television medium.
The chair was designed by Charles, the husband and wife team, and over half a century later, Eames chair remains famous.
Price has a lot to do with the status of the chair and the ottoman, and it’s currently going for just under AUD 8000. In 1978, Charles Eames died; his wife died a decade later. They gave their friend Wilder, the Academy Award-winning director, the first model of the lounge chair.
Source
Encyclopedia of Interior Design. (1997). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
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