Eames Sofa Wood Arm Prototypes

These angular wood forms are prototypes for the arms of the ES108 Eames Sofa, the last furniture design by the Eameses to be commercialized. The sofa’s origins lie with a strategic decision made by Herman Miller executives in the 1970s to have the Eames Office pursue development work with Vitra, the company’s European counterpart. In 1969, Vitra launched the now iconic Panton chair, establishing that they were not only capable of manufacturing and distribution, but also design development—a thrust they would continue to pursue in the 1970s with more complex products like the Vitramat office chair. (Herman Miller, tellingly, imported both designs to North America.) While Herman Miller was increasingly concerned with high volume systems furnishings, Willi Fehlbaum and his son Rolf, who would soon succeed him, remained deeply committed to the Eameses and their exacting approach to design. The Eames Sofa began development in the mid-1970s as a Soft Pad–like revision to both earlier Eames Sofas—the SX-73 Sofa Compact and 3473. When Charles passed away in August 1978, the prototypes of the new sofa did not have arms, but in the years after his death, Herman Miller pushed for their inclusion. These wooden forms (likely produced by staff member Dick Donges) offer clues to the many directions he and Ray considered for the cast forms that would support a supple leather cushion at either end of the sofa.