When word that Yves Behar was working on a new chair for Herman Miller reached the Wallpaper* offices, we sped across the pond to the manufacturer's HQ in Michigan to find out more. There, we not only discovered the chair in question - the Golden Gate Bridge-inspired 'SAYL' (see our October issue) - but a remarkable archive of original design drawings for the now ubiquitous Eames Lounge Chair, alongside George Nelson's manifestos and vintage advertising artwork.
A more prestigious, and historically rich, chair manufacturer would be hard to find: Herman Miller's reverential relationship towards its designers has helped put industrial design on the map. With no internal design team, the company chooses its creative talent carefully and nurtures it over time. 'It's the designer's vision we're striving for,' says Don Goeman, Herman Miller's executive president. 'But that is a responsibility as much as an opportunity. The designer is given the reigns, but if the vision is not right, the team realises they are not being pulled in the right direction.'
Another treasure we discovered on our rifle through the archives was a 1956 film. It shows the iconic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman being assembled by Herman Miller worker, Dick Hoffman.
An ad from 1963 touting authentic Herman Miller furniture designs. This shows that knock-offs were already appearing more than 40 years ago
A 1956 ad for the ’Nelson Coconut chair’ by George Nelson. The graphics for the ad were almost certainly done by the Nelson office
A 1956 ad for the ’Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman’
A 1961 ad for Herman Miller’s ’Textile & Objects’ store, often referred to as the ’T&O’ - a retail venture championed and led by Alexander Girard
A 1966 ad featuring Alexander Girard textile designs
A 1960s ad for the Eames ’Aluminum Group’ chair
The Herman Miller showroom in San Francisco, circa 1967
Alexander Girard at work in his studio, circa 1967
Charles Eames and George Nelson in conversation in 1959
A 1962 ad for the Eames Aluminum Group
A 1954 ad highlighting Herman Miller’s design consultants - Nelson, Eames and Girard
A 1960 Girard ad
Late 1940s Eames furniture ad, highlighting plastic shell chairs and the Eames Storage Units (ESU)
Nelson ad graphic, circa 1967
Eames photographing the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman production at Herman Miller, circa early 1973
A 1954 ad for the Eames ’Shell’ chairs (upholstered) on a swivel base and ’ESU’ desk - an early example of Herman Miller’s focus on the commercial workplace market
A photograph of the San Francisco Herman Miller showroom in 1959, designed by Alexander Girard, featuring the ’Nelson Swag Leg Chair and Desk’, with a Nelson ’Thin Edge’ day bed in background
A 1969 ad highlighting select Nelson pieces, as well as Isamu Noguchi’s iconic coffee table for Herman Miller
A 1969 ad featuring the many varieties/configurations of the Eames plastic shell chairs
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