Buchtipp: The Story of Eames Furniture











[Fotos: © 2010 Eames Office LLC, from the Collections of the Library of Congress]


The Story of Eames Furniture
Author: Marilyn Neuhart with John Neuhart
Language: English
Release: September 2010
Price: € 150,00
Features: 800 pages, full cover, hardcover, 2 volumes in slipcase
ISBN: 978-3-89955-230-0

In this unique 2-volume, 800-page book with more than 2,500 images, Marilyn Neuhart tells the story—to paraphrase Charles Eames himself—of how Eames furniture got to be the way it is.
The Story of Eames Furniture is the benchmark reference on the subject. It is a biography—not of an individual person, but of arguably the most influential and important furniture brand of our time. Brimming with images and information, this 2-volume, 800-page book in a slipcase sheds new light on the context in which the furniture of Charles and Ray Eames was created. It documents in unparalleled detail how the design process in the Eames Office developed as well as the significant roles played by specific designers and manufacturers.

Through intense and self-critical teamwork, the Eames Office was the first to translate the theoretical approach of the Bauhaus into commercially successful design for a mass market. One can hardly exaggerate the relevance of Eames's modern concept of design. In many cases the success of the pieces is based on the Office's own development and perfection of production processes for its designs.

The concepts that originated in the Eames Studio made a fundamental impact on modern design. Its furniture still tops bestseller lists and, decades later, the pieces have not lost any of their original elegance, timelessness, freshness, and quality. Its combination of conceptual consistency, aesthetic mastery, and almost scientific persistence is particularly inspirational for young designers today.

The Story of Eames Furniture was written and designed by Marilyn Neuhart together with her husband John. Both worked with the Eames Office in various capacities from the 1950s until 1978, the year of Charles Eames’s death. Having been in close proximity to Charles and Ray Eames as well as the members of the Eames Office and their patron manufacturers for almost 30 years, Marilyn and John Neuhart had the extraordinary opportunity to absorb their stories. This book is a firsthand account of the Eames Office from within that meticulously portrays the history and development of Eames furniture based on the recollections of the Neuharts and those who worked closely with Charles Eames. More familiar with the material and protagonists than almost any other, Marilyn Neuhart has spent the last 15 years compiling the texts and images featured in this book. [Text: Gestalten Verlag]