LAMA / Eames / Harry Soderblom
The preview for the LAMA October 7th auction is now open.
The DCW and child's stool belonged to Eames office employee Harry Soderblom. He worked with the Eames from 1943 to 1951.
Lot 300 also includes Harry's sample leg splint, two photographs purported to have taken by Charles Eames, and the letter below.
Here are some of the Eames lots.
Lot 300 also includes Harry's sample leg splint, two photographs purported to have taken by Charles Eames, and the letter below.
Letter from Charles Eames to Harry Soderblom.
The opening referenced in the letter was for the Eames Office-designed Herman Miller Furniture Company
showroom at 8806 Beverly Boulevard.
It looks like Harry lived in Atwater Village. That's a cool little neighborhood. Grain is a great design shop in Atwater and
right across the street is Proof Bakery. I highly recommend getting there as close to noon as possible. That's when the
Proof sandwiches come out and they are seriously great. They make some great coffee as well.
Harry Soderblom is at the top right with his wife Bernice (sitting on the Hans Coray chair).
Ray Eames is standing in front of the LAR.
My guess is that the photo was taken in the meadow at the Eames house.
The chairs look like the same ones seen on the Eames house patio in the 1952 image below.
and there are a couple of collapsible sling chairs.
Isamu Kenmochi and Charles are sitting on the sling chairs and Ray is on the LAR. The Coray chair is empty.
Photo: Design: Isamu Noguchi and Isamu Kenmochi
Charles Eames with Harry Soderblom and two other Molded Plywood Division employees
inside the blister for a plywood glider's nose section.
Harry's molded child's stool. He also had the chair, but it left the family years ago.
This 5-2-5 screw pattern DCW is presumably the chair in the letter that Charles gave Harry in appreciation for his help.
Dan Tolson, Director of 20th Century Design at LAMA, was filling me in on Harry's story and I
noticed the measurements and form of the chair looked slightly off. Dan later compared the chair to an Evans DCW LAMA had
in their warehouse and indeed Harry's chair is slightly larger. Tolson then called Eames Designs editor Dan Ostroff to
get his opinion on it and Ostroff believes it was produced by Herman Miller. Even though the 5-2-5 screw
pattern is typically Evans, this was about the time Herman Miller took over production, so it makes sense. Ostroff also noted
that Charles looked down on Evans production, so the idea is that he would prefer to give his friend a chair by Herman Miller.
On a potentially related side note, Tolson said the Soderblom family informed him that Harry's body was used as a model
for chair forms at the Eames Office.
Charles & Ray Eames cabinet with a Stephens Tru-Sonic speaker
Mono!
There's also a super rare three leg CTM