This week’s blog post is about the Shell Arm Chair Generations Article in our online Wiki. Fiberglass Arm Chairs is one of the first top range furniture pieces that come to mind when you think of Eames Furniture.
The sheer variety and the designs of them are enough to make them one of the most popular Eames pieces of all time. There are a number of generations which have different specifications. However, a lot of people know there are different generations, but do not know what makes each generation different.
As a result, our Wiki page on the Shell Arm Chairs takes you through the different editions and the materials used to make them and every in-depth piece of detail you may need when buying or selling your own.
This generation was released between the years of 1950 - 1953, where it was produced in the Zenith Plastics factory in Gardena, California. T
he chair was available in 6 different colors which were Elephant Grey, Red Orange, Lemon Yellow, Greige, Parchment and Seafoam. It had a 4 square Zenith Plastic Label known as the ‘Checkerboard’.
‘Generation 1.5’ was also a name that was used to refer to the fiberglass Arm Chairs and the labels resembles half of the ‘Checkerboard’ label. There were no differences in the production of chairs, and it was still classed as the 1st generation.
This was a piece that was made in two locations between the years of 1954 and 1955.
The designing still took place in the Zenith factory in Gardena, but the manufacturing also started taking place at the Eames Office in Santa Monica which the red label represents.
This chair also comes in the same 6 colors as the first generation but can sometimes come with no label or a red label, depending on the manufacturing of the piece.
This piece was released between 1955 - 1958 in the Zenith Factory.
This Arm Shell has 3 raise dots which is how you can identify that they are the 3rd generation edition, however the dots can be difficult to see.
Unlike the 1st and 2nd generation, the 3rd generation has smaller diameter shock mounts, but it does come in the same 6 colors as the 1st and 2nd generation Arm Shell Chair.
The 4th generation is where the designs started becoming more versatile.
Firstly, there were several more colors added to the original 6 color schemes. The shells were manufactured in a number of different factories with the Herman Miller logo placed directly onto the chair.
The shock mounts match the 3rd generation in that they are smaller diameter shock mounts with no centre washers. The 4th Generation was released between 1959 - 1989.
Fiberglass Shells made a comeback in 2013 after being off the scene for 24 years but they were still just as popular as before.
In the new range, there are 9 colors that you can take your pick from, but the shock mounts have a new pattern.
There are larger ones on the front and smaller ones on the rear. There are a number of Logos on the bottom of the shells and you can find more information about them in our ‘Labels & Stamps’ segment in our Wiki.
Our Wiki is designed to provide information that could be used when buying or selling an Eames piece, or even if you just have a general interest in everything Eames!
There are plenty of segments on the Wiki which have product information, Articles about products and also background history on the generation of a specific product, in this case, the Shell Arm Chair Generations.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s blog post.
Until next time, have fun browsing!