La Fonda Arm Chair Series

The Eames La Fonda Arm Chair Series was an early 1960’s special commission range of chairs for the La Fonda Mexican Cuisine restaurant in the Time Life building, New York. The design project for the restaurant was headed by Eames’ family friend Alexander Girard. The La Fonda range of arms had the original model numbers 1730, 1735 and 1736 however in Europe the abbreviated DAL was used standing for Dining (D) height Arm (A) chair on La Fonda (L) base.

The Eames La Fonda fiberglass series comprised an arm chair version, a side DSL chair as well as tables in both dining and coffee sizes. Girard’s design brief to the Eames Office was to produce a chair design in keeping with the plastic series however with one fundamental change of feature. He wanted the chairs to be lower than the height of the table top and this is the reason for the lower and rounder style of shape in the design of this series.

The Eames Office designed a new base for the exclusive use of the La Fonda series. It comprised of two mirrored columns, brought together to create a beautiful and unique pedestal creation. Herman Miller released the series to the general market at the time of the restaurant launch and they remained on the catalog until 1974. The new La Fonda top was also used on the pedestal contract base (model 1735) with or without castors as well as the draftsman's stool and tandem seating benches.

The La Fonda was revolutionary for the Eames Office as it had the first fixed upholstery which would later be used with all plastic chairs. It also had a special gel mixed with the mold to make the fiberglass matte in finish. This resulted in the shell only ever being available in one color (officially light greige).

The restaurant La Fonda Del Sol has a cult status today, largely due to the fantastic designs of Alexander Girard and the Eames Office. It wasn’t however a commercial success and closed its doors in 1963.

• The La Fonda arm shells carry the same labels and stamps as other plastic chairs, these help to identify the authenticity of the top
• The La Fonda bases are very distinctive and as far as we can ascertain, these have not so far been the subject of copying.
• La Fonda bases should be in polished alu, black, gun metal or white.
• La Fonda chairs should be upholstered but often appear without, whereby it has been removed previously, likely after wear or damage.
• The La Fonda was only ever produced in 'light Greige' fiberglass. The degree of yellowing etc will depend on the conditions since purchase.
• Check upholstery edging and the fabric for cuts, tears and especially lifting which lowers value and is very difficult to fix without re-upholstering.

• The most valuable La Fonda chairs are those on the original Fonda base and with upholstery fully intact and in great condition.
• La Fonda chairs have often been found in some of Alexander Girard's best fabric designs, though you should check that the fabric is vintage original as they will be worth more than those been re-upholstered in new or old stock fabrics.
• Naked fiberglass version with upholstery removed are actually quite an attractive chair and thus the value is still high. Just ensure that with a top of this kind, there are no holes drilled through the fiberglass.
• La Fonda chairs are all about condition! The fiber shell was only produced in one color but it can vary in shade depending on early/late production. As with most of the plastic chairs, the older it is the more valuable it tends to be