EC328 Secretarial Chair (Naugahyde)

This two-piece adjustable Secretarial Chair embodies key trends in postwar office furniture design, namely ergonomics and customization. Its adjustable height and seat depth, along with its wheels and flexible spring steel brace, sought to accommodate and support the needs of office workers who would spend long hours occupying them. And in terms of customization, it was available with boxed-edge cushions or thin, rounded pads (this example features the latter), and the fiberglass shell was available in color that its manufacturer Herman Miller referred to as Parchment (an off-white shade), Greige (a gray-beige shade), or Black. For the upholstery, customers could select Milnilo, Polynit, vinyl, or Hopsak options from Herman Miller’s extensive textile program (this example is a particularly vibrant vinyl). Lastly, the chair was available with a polished aluminum base, or one that was coated in dark epoxy, for a more durable finish and more muted appearance. These options were a microcosm of the various ways in which Herman Miller chairs, desks, and space dividers could be flexibly combined to suit the diverse office needs of various corporate clients—and the options only expanded as the manufacturer became increasingly focused on contract furnishings in the later decades of the 20th century.