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“Keep Out of the Kazam Please” Note

Charles and Ray invented the Kazam! machine (named by Ray) to mold plywood into compound curves using heat and pressure. They set up the machine, which ran on electricity, in a spare bedroom. Dangerously, the apparatus resembled a seat when left in an open position. In this note with an amusing cartoon, Charles warns visitors in large block letters to resist the urge to sit, adding a quiet “please” at the bottom. In his cautionary illustration, four shocked limbs reach out from the corded machine, its electric cable extending out like a long tongue and a small coil emerging from its top like a curling tendril of hair.

Artifact
A.2019.2.026
Material
Graphite on paper
Artist / Designer
Charles Eames
Dimensions
5 × 8 in
12.7 × 20.3 cm
Date
1942

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