Conceived in 1946, the Eames Pipe Stand was a small household accessory designed for the sole purpose of housing up to four period-popular tobacco pipes.
The post war years became something of a period of invention, of trying out new ideas and designs using the plyform technology that Charles Eames had developed so well with the Evans Plywood Company. It would of course mark the design and release of some of the most famous Eames furniture designs including the DCM, LCW chairs and DTM, CTW tables.
The reality is that the pipe stand is most likely an afterthought, a neat idea that came about as a means of using up material. It is widely believed that the pipe stand was invented to use up spare sections of plywood that had been originally intended to be used as Radio Enclosures.
A group of accessories were put together, including a waste basket and tray as well as the pipe stand. They were intended to be used as showroom examples of what could be manufactured using the new plywood technologies. Handfuls of the Pipe stand were sold to the marketplace and do, from time to time, show up in the secondary market. The waste baskets and trays are not believed to be in circulation.
But why a Pipe Stand? We can perhaps see a light-hearted direct influence from Charles Eames within this design. Charles was famously photographed on many occasions smoking or holding a tobacco pipe from his lips and this quirky design is likely an improvisation on that interest.
| Height | 4.75 " | 12.06 cm |
| Width | 7.5" | 19.05 cm |
| Depth | 5" | 12.7 cm |
| Veneer | Top level veneers made from Birch |
| Core | The core sections of plywformed designs was made from Birch wood |
This angle shows where the three veneer parts come together to create a triangular core.
The plywood pipe stand is made from three sections of veneer and this allows the design to self-stand on any horizontal surface. The piece leans slightly to towards the part that touches the table..
From the front, the Eames Pipe Stand appears to flow from top to bottom like a wave. The top of the wave allows the chamber of the pipe to sit whilst the bottom is part of how it stands.
From the side you can see the there sections of plywood veneer that makes the structure of the Pipe Stand, the left longer section with holes, the inner top and underneath.
The rear of the Eames Pipe Stand shows the longer flatter side purportedly made from off cut sections of Radio Enclosures and contains the holes for the pipe stems.