Eames Auction
July 9, 2000
The July 9, 2000 auction, The Work of Charles and Ray Eames, was the first auction dedicated to the influential work of Charles & Ray Eames. An exhibition entitled “Work from the Office of Charles and Ray Eames” displayed a range of important designs, including property from the collection of John and Marilyn Neuhart, and property of a Lady, Bloomfield Hills, MI. This sale featured 103 lots and included two rare “DCW” prototypes which were hand-built in the Eames Office, as well as chairs, radios, House of Cards, screens, and storage units.
This landmark auction achieved impressive prices on pieces from a magnificent collection of Eames designs. Highlights included a “DCW” prototype chair (Lot 29 est. $70,000 – 90,000) that realized $107,000, an “ESU-D-20-C” plywood, steel, and masonite desk (Lot 72 est. $6,000 – 8,000, realized $9,775), two vintage photographs (Lots 1 and 47 est. $800 – 1,200 each, realized $4,600 and $2,645), and a Stephens Trusonic “Quadraflex” speaker (Lot 79 est. $1,200 – 1,500, realized $920).
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- Lot 29
- Charles and Ray Eames
- A rare and highly important prototype “DCW” with armrests
- Produced at the Eames Offices prior to December 1945.
- 29.5″h, 29.75″w, 21.5″d.
- Stamped underneath “10″
- Provenance: Charles Eames Private Collection, California
- Estimate $70,000 – 80,000
- Realized $107,000
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- Lot 72
- Charles and Ray Eames
- A fine plywood, steel and masonite “ESU-D-20-C” desk
- Manufactured by Herman Miller c. 1951
- 29″h, 60″w, 24.5″d
- Retains decal inside drawer
- Estimate $6,000 – 8,000
- Realized $9,775
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- Lot 1
- A vintage print
- Photographed by Don Albinson
- c. 1943
- 8″ x 10″
- Stamped on reverse “Charles Eames 901 Washington boulevard Venice California” and inscribed in pencil “P399″
- Illustrated: “Eames Design”, pg. 34; “Connections”, pg. 16
- Don Albinson photographed Charles and Ray on the sidewalk outside the Eames office with DCW chair bases
- Provenance: Charles and Ray Eames; John and Marilyn Neuhart
- Estimate $800 – 1,200
- Realized $4,600
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- Lot 47
- A vintage print
- Photographed at the Eames Office, printed in 1976 for the exhibition Connections: The Work of Charles and Ray Eames
- 8″ x 10″
- Inscribed in Ray’s handwriting on reverse each person’s name pictured
- Illustrated: “Eames Design”, pg. 98
- Provenance: Charles and Ray Eames; John and Marilyn Neuhart
- Estimate $800 – 1,200
- Realized $2,645
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- Lot 83
- Charles and Ray Eames
- A molded plastic tray printed with the “Sea Things” pattern
- Produced by Waverly Products, a division of Schiffer c. 1954
- 14″ x 14″
- Molded marks on reverse “Consolidated Molded Products Corporation/ Waverly Products/ 1954″
- Estimate $700 – 900
- Realized $1,265
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- Lot 79
- Charles and Ray Eames
- A Stephens Trusonic “Quadraflex” speaker
- 28″h, 30″w, 13″ d.
- The design attributed to Charles Eames.
- Produced by Stephens after 1953
- Estimate $1,200 – $1,500
- Realized $920
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- Lot 48
- Charles and Ray Eames
- A fiberglass, rubber, and steel “SAX” chair
- Produced by Zenith Plastics and distributed by Herman Miller
- 29.5″, 24.75″w, 24.5″d.
- Estimate $300 – 400
- Realized $489
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- Lot 19
- Charles and Ray Eames
- An Emerson bent plywood radio
- Model No. “E78″
- 6.5″h x 11″w x 5.5″d
- Emerson and other radio manufacturers contracted with Evans Molded Plywood Division to produce the enclosure and base of a series of radios beginning in 1946
- Estimate $1,000 – 1,500