Essential Design 
25 April 2024
Essential Design 
220

Charles and Ray Eames

Leg splint in original packaging

Evans Products
USA, 1944-45
Douglas fir plywood 42½ h × 8 w × 4 d in (108 × 20 × 10 cm)
estimate: $300–500
result: $819
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Paper manufacturer's label to front ‘1 Splint Leg Plywood for Transportation Stock No. S2-1790 Evans Manufactured by Evans Products Company Molded Plywood Division Los Angeles, California’.
provenance: Acquired c. 1997 by the present owner
literature: Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames, Neuhart, Neuhart and Eames, ppg. 32-33

This work will ship from Los Angeles, California.

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To excel in the structuring of a problem, we must be committed to a concern for quality in everything around us. We must learn to care deeply.

Charles Eames

Design Remedy

Leg Splints by Charles and Ray Eames

Charles and Ray Eames had just begun experimenting with molded plywood in their furniture designs when their attention was drawn elsewhere. Upon hearing that the metal splints used to treat injured soldiers were causing more damage and pain by amplifying vibrations when moved, the pair set out to design a lighter, flexible and more forgiving solution. Working in the guest bedroom of their small home, Charles and Ray crafted the first plywood leg splint. Using wood veneers bonded with resin glue and shaped under heat and pressure, the resulting splints were functional, lightweight, and inexpensive to produce. Together with manufacturer Evans Products, the Eames’ produced over 150,000 splints during the war. For Charles and Ray, the venture was not only beneficial to the war effort, but it also enabled them to perfect the manufacturing process for molded plywood furniture and underlined the importance of functional, egalitarian design.

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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