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7 June 2023
Living in Design: The Michael & Gabrielle Boyd Collection 
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Charles and Ray Eames

ESU 400-C

Herman Miller
USA, 1950
birch plywood, brushed chrome-plated steel, birch, lacquered masonite, lacquered plywood, chrome-plated steel, enameled aluminum 58¾ h × 47 w × 17 d in (149 × 119 × 43 cm)
estimate: $8,000–10,000
result: $8,820
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Cabinet features three drawers and four sliding doors concealing storage.
literature: Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames, Neuhart, Neuhart and Eames, ppg. 128-129 The Herman Miller Collection, manufacturer’s catalog, 1952, pg. 105

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Eames ‘ESU’ and ‘EDU’ for Herman Miller

Reshaping the Modern Home and Office with Iconic Design

In 1949, Charles and Ray Eames designed a novel range of store units and desks for Herman Miller: the Eames Storage Unit (ESU) and Eames Desk Unit (EDU). These lines drew on the foundations of industrial production, in which lightweight materials and components were integrated into the construction of adaptable forms. At the same time, the Eameses were working on their groundbreaking Eames House, or Case Study House No. 8, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, which would become their primary residence and studio. Whether designing furniture or architecture, the Eameses endeavored to discover practical yet delightful solutions to meet the demands of modern living.

Eames Case Study House No. 8
Eames Case Study House No. 8, Los Angeles, CA, designed in 1949 (Photo courtesy of the Eames Foundation)

The ESU and EDU were initially available on a commercial basis in 1950. These Eames designs were intended to be low-cost, modular interior elements that could fit equally well in the home or office. Each shelving section of an ESU or EDU could be configured with an open or closed front, using wire-cross struts, drawers, or sliding plywood panels with natural finish or laminated colors. The ESUs were also released in different heights, with the 100 series one level high, the 200 series two levels high, and the 400 series four levels high.

Some of the possible aesthetic and formal influences for the Eames ESU and EDU are Dutch artist Piet Mondrian’s geometric emphasis and stark palette, toy train maker Frank Hornby’s Meccano kit, Alfred Carlton Gilbert’s Erector set, and even traditional Japanese design. Yet the Eameses created something wholly new with their line of ESUs and EDUs. While both were relatively well-received by the buying public, and Herman Miller continued making plywood furniture in the decades that followed, the first run of the ESU and EDU lasted only from 1950 to 1955. Given the broad resurgence of interest in mid-century modern design toward the end of the 20th century, Herman Miller began to reintroduce certain models in 1998.

Ray and Charles Eames with Chair
Ray and Charles Eames with one of their aluminum chairs for Herman Miller, circa 1958 (Photo courtesy of Eames Office LLC, from the collection of the Library of Congress)

Vintage Eames Marketing Materials

Charles and Ray Eames

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The vast influence of Charles and Ray Eames is immeasurable; Responding to the burgeoning attitudes and landscapes of mid-century America, they created an utterly unique and novel design world, born from their curiosity, industriousness, optimism and humanistic impulses.

In 1940, the Charles and Ray met at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where Charles was collaborating with Eero Saarinen on furniture designs and Ray was studying painting. The two married in 1941 and moved to Los Angeles soon after, establishing their highly influential design firm that, with the help of other talented designers they brought in, would re-shape modern design. Early explorations in plywood and mass-producing sturdy, livable and charming furniture brought them success and allowed them to extend their efforts into more diverse fields such as education, textiles, filmmaking, curating, architecture and industrial design.

The Eames Office operated for over four decades, exerting an enormous influence on modern and contemporary design through their limitless vision of the human spirit. Charles passed away in 1978 and Ray died ten years later to the day. Their contribution to the American ethos continues to inspire and influence contemporary design today.

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