produced by Evans Products, Los Angeles, USA
Douglas fir plywood
41³⁄₄ x 7³⁄₄ x 4 in. (106 x 19.7 x 10.2 cm)
with producer's trademark and numbered S2-1790

J. Neuhart, M. Neuhart and R. Eames, Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames, New York, 1989, pp. 32-33
S. Dachs, P. de Muga and L. Garcia Hintze, eds., Objects and Furniture Design by Architects: Charles and Ray Eames, Barcelona, 2007, pp. 26, 120

This model can be found in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 1984.246), the Museum of Modern Art, New York (inv. no. 1298.2001), the Brooklyn Museum (inv. no. 83.156), the Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 2008.696) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. no. 2008.82).

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Lot Essay

In 1942, Charles and Ray Eames were studying how molded plywood could address a serious problem the Medical Corps was struggling to solve: the standard metal splints used to brace wounded World War II servicemen were causing further injuries due to the vibrations in the metal during transport. Within one year, Charles and Ray produced their first Molded Plywood Splint using a wood-bending contraption they invented known as the 'Kazam! machine'. The resulting highly sculptural yet functional, modular device could be mass-produced and conveniently transported. Access to military technology and manufacturing facilities allowed the artists to perfect the plywood-molding technique they had been working on for several years. The splint’s biomorphic form suggests the couple’s subsequent influential plywood furniture designs.