Charles and Ray Eames Early restored DCW Walnut Plywood Chairs, Herman Miller

Although their ubiquitous leather lounge might be more recognizable, there’s arguably no chair that better embodies the design ethos of Charles and Ray Eames (1907–78; 1912–88) than the DCW dining chair. It was introduced at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in a 1946 exhibition titled “New Furniture Designed by Charles Eames.” (Ray was notably absent from the exhibition title, despite being a full collaborator on the work.) 

In its design, construction and manufacturing, the DCW is pure Eames. It was born of functionality and comfort, crafted in a shape that the ever-inquisitive Eameses decided would provide optimal support for a large number of people. “We found that comfort depended more on the perfect molding to the body shape than it did on the way the bone structure was supported,” Charles noted in a 1954 film on the piece. “If the structure was supported properly, the hard and rigid material, like molded plywood, can provide a remarkably high degree of comfort.”

This proper support is the result of the chair’s five distinct parts: a pair of two-legged bases, a bentwood seat, a bentwood back and a long piece of bentwood that connects each of these. Such construction allows for a certain flexibility in movement between the seat and the back without requiring any type of complicated adjustment mechanism.

The Eameses developed the DCW while tinkering with the “Kazam! Machine,” a mechanism they invented to press and mold wood veneer. In their Los Angeles apartment, the couple would place a sheet of wood veneer into the machine, then top it with a layer of glue. After repeating these steps 5 to 11 times and ensuring the layers were set in place, the Kazam! Machine was clamped shut and a bicycle pump inflated a balloon to press the layers into their molded shape. Charles and Ray then cut the mold and sanded each finished shape by hand. 

The Kazam! Machine was a direct result of Charles and Ray’s determination to conceive an efficient, inexpensive means of production. Plywood, too, was a significant choice. Not unlike the molded plastic with which the Eameses would experiment, plywood was relatively cheap and easily available, rendering it optimal for the kind of democratic design the couple championed.

The Eames DCW chair has appeared (and continues to appear) in interiors by top designers all over the world. Today, it remains a top seller for Herman Miller — with equal credit given to Charles and Ray.

The legacy of Charles Eames looms large in design. In partnership with his wife, Ray, Charles was at the forefront of pioneering innovation in the use of molded plywood for furniture making. The Eameses’ cheerful and inviting work has endured among the most important advancements in the history of 20th-century design.

Together, visionary mid-century modern duo Charles and Ray Eames introduced a wide range of renowned furniture to the postwar market, including iconic designs such as the Eames lounge chair and ottoman, the wildly colorful birch plywood-and-plastic-laminate Eames storage unit, the Eames compact sofa and more. The designers were trailblazers in molded plywood furniture and brought lively organic form to metal and plastic.

Charles Eames studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. He traveled to Mexico and Europe, and experienced firsthand the work of designer-architects Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In 1930, upon returning to Missouri, Eames opened an architecture practice with Charles M. Gray but later moved to Michigan in 1938. He received a fellowship at Cranbrook Academy of Art, which would become a breeding ground for the stars of mid-century design. Eames continued his architecture studies at Cranbrook and also taught in the design department.

In 1940, Eames met his future wife, artist and designer Beatrice Alexandra "Ray" Kaiser, who was studying at Cranbrook under Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. Charles teamed up with another Cranbrook instructor, Finnish-American designer Eero Saarinen, to explore the possibilities of plywood for use in furniture design.

With support from Ray, Charles and Eero created chairs and case pieces and submitted them to the “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City — among them was the groundbreaking organic Side chair made of molded plywood with maple legs. It was upholstered by Heywood-Wakefield. This exhibition is considered critical by many to the popularization of what is known as mid-century modernism. Eames and Saarinen won first place for their submissions to the competition.

Charles and Ray were married in 1941 and soon after moved to Los Angeles, California, and lived in an apartment building designed by architect Richard Neutra. Charles worked on set design at MGM, and at night, in a humble workshop they established in the guest bedroom, he and Ray experimented with molded plywood on a homemade device they called the “Kazaam!” machine. In 1942, the couple won a U.S. Navy contract to create molded plywood leg splints that would be used to support wartime medical efforts. Soon, the Evans Product Company was making the splints and the Eameses opened the famed Eames Office and studio.

The Eameses’ innovative use of wire framing, molded plywood and applied fabrics caught the attention of many notable figures in interior design and architecture, including George Nelson, director of design at Herman Miller, a now-legendary modern furniture manufacturer. The company enlisted the Eameses’ talents and was eventually home to the couple’s classic pieces such as the Eames DCW chair and the DCM chair.

Find an extensive array of vintage Charles Eames seating, tables and case pieces on 1stDibs.