EAMES AUCTION
23 May, 1999
Richard Wright, John Toomey and Treadway Gallery
Richard Wright, John Toomey and Treadway Gallery: EAMES AUCTION [23 MAY, 1999]. Cincinnati, OH: Treadway Gallery, 1999. Slim quarto. Photographically printed wrappers. 88 pp. Color photography throughout. Catalog lightly handled. A nearly fine copy.
8.5 x 11 auction catalog with 88 pages of beautifully illustrated lots, now considered one of the standard references for collectors of Ray and Charles Eames. Larry Weinberg wrote about this catalogs' production: ". . . At the time, assembling this material for a dedicated sale was a bold step, but no more so than re-thinking what an auction catalog could look like. Working with Julie [Thoma Wright], hiring a graphic designer out of pocket, and micro-managing practically everything, Richard [Wright] wound up pushing the boundaries of auction catalog design. The finished product would become a template for his later, more polished efforts, which, in turn, would provoke change in catalog design at the larger auction houses."
Includes excellent color photographic images of Eames Design Labels; Images of Eames Family; Letters; scarf and House of Cards; Letters to Eero and Lillian Saarinen and The Toy; Sidechair and Armchair for the Kleinhans; Rocker and ESU's manufactured by Herman Miller; Sea Things fragment manufactured by Schiffer Prints; Chaise manufactured by Herman Miller; Rocker manufactured by Zenith Plastics; the Prototype rocker base done for Museum of Modern Art; Lounge chair and ottoman manufactured by Herman Miller; Surfboard ETR table; rocker; low wire chairs; low table rod; Folding screen ESU manufactured by Herman Miller; Prototype splint and box of splints; Folding screen and box; Eiffel Tower chairs; rod base chair; and low wire chairs; Folding screen; coffee table and LCW; Crosspatch fabric manufactured by Schiffer Prints; LCW chairs manufactured by Herman Miller; DCW; CTW and LCW manufactured by Herman Miller; LCWs and DCMs; Dowel leg chairs manufactured by Herman Miller; Pre-production DCMs manufactured by Evans Products; DCW manufactured by Herman Miller; Sofa compact manufactured by Herman Miller; LCW manufactured by Herman Miller; Folding Screen and pre-production LCW; Pre-production DCW manufactured by Evans Products; Rockers (RAR) manufactured by Herman Miller; Eiffel Tower chairs; low wire chairs; child's stools and child's chair; Dining set; dining table; DCWs; LCM; ESU; LTR and incidental table; Sofa compact manufactured by Herman Miller; ECS (Eames Contract Storage); Prototype Eiffel Tower chairs; ESU 400 manufactured by Herman Miller; Hang-It-All; Time-Life stools; surfboard ETR; LCWs; LCW manufactured by Herman Miller; LCM manufactured by Herman Miller; Candid Photographs Charles and Eero Saarinen; Eames prototype speaker; Snapshot of Charles with diploma; Christmas card; Letter to Eero Saarinen; Doodles on envelopes to the Saarinens; Letters to Eero and Lillian Saarinen; Pre-production LCW; OTW and DCWs; Various cards done from etchings and drawings; Polyhedron display; Incidental tables and LTR (low table rod); Photograph of interior of their Neutra apartment in Los Angeles; Set of 6 Time-Life chairs and more.
Richard Wright's catalog introduction: "At the end of the Twentieth Century, the work of Charles and Ray Eames continues to grow in importance. The couple stands as the premier designers of the Post-War era. This auction is a celebration of their work. Of course the auction, as any collection of Eames, can only tell a small part of the story. The very scale of Eames design defies collection. Never one to be categorized, their work encompasses architecture, furniture design, photography, graphics, film, toys, education, and more. When I originated the idea to hold the auction, I chose to focus on the early works. For over two years I have searched out items that are special, that represent the best examples of Eames design. I made my choices with the collector in mind.
"Collectors of Eames furniture tend to be obsessive, not unlike the designers themselves. I like to think that buyers of Eames furniture care about the shape of screws, rubber disk and footpads because Charles and Ray did. Collectors like to turn things over and upside down, to look at the parts, to explore. By closely examining each piece, you begin to see the furniture differently. You notice the actual string of rope imbedded in the edge of an early Zenith plastic shell. The rope is there because the shells were pulled out of the mold and finished by hand. After that, you cannot help but touch the edge of every shell chair you see. Collectors notice details: the rounded edge of early runners, the graining of plywood, the presence of a label. To a collector, these things matter, they make the difference.
"The late Robert Breeze was such a collector. With his partner, Charles Stewart, he built a collection of forties and fifties furniture focusing largely on Eames. A connoisseur of Eames, he drew distinctions between chairs and searched for the earliest examples. A stickler on condition and originality, Robert's passion resulted in a fine collection. Many pieces from the Breeze-Stewart Collection are in this sale.
"Eames furniture can be collected at all price levels. Charles was always concerned with creating the best design at the lowest cost. There are Eames chairs that sell for under $500; a classic LCW from the original production regularly sells for under $1000 and nearly all the designs sell for under $5000'not inexpensive, but a good value in the context of the larger furniture market. In many ways, now is the perfect time to collect Eames designs. We are still in the window of time when the furniture is available directly from the original owners. The very best designs are still coming to the market, many of which are featured in this sale. The letters from Charles to Eero Saarinen are one example.
"Historical artifacts, they are an insight into the past, as when Charles discusses his ambition for the famous Eames house: "I didn't realize as we were working on it, but by now it seems to be an entirely different conception of residential architecture than we have ever seen before, and we are really hopped up about it, and ready to commit anything short of murder to get it built. . ."
"The splint sculpture by Ray Eames is another such item. She uses the utilitarian form of the splint to explore the dynamic nature of curves and negative space. The sculpture is a search for form, but the piece is also as much an expression of joy as a work of art. The idea of fun was never far away from the Eameses. Indeed, it was treated as serious business. The collector sees all of this in the plywood curves.
"The special history of the splint also increases the desirability to the collector. The owner of the splint, Parke Meek, was a longtime Eames Office employee. A self-described 'Jack-of-all-trades.' In the often challenging environment of the Office, he flourished. Parke is a man who also knows the value of fun, 'I would wake up in the morning excited to get to work.' His creativity, enthusiasm and humor served him well. Today he is often a bit surprised at the attention collectors focus on the past. In seeking to explain that time he will often say, 'look, we were just having fun.' The fun of the Eames Office is our gain.
"The Eames photos are another special part of the sale. The Eameses were prolific photographers obsessed with documenting their world. From the early photo of them posed in their Neutra apartment, we see them creating an image of themselves for the world. These photos are not candid snapshots, but a designed view of their life. There was no strict separation between work and life to the Eameses. The energy that went into making a Christmas card was equal to that of a chair or a toy. The staging of a photo would often stop design work in the office. In a letter to Eero, Charles admits, "we show that great talent in which we have come to specialize: taking the longest to do the least job. Proficiency in this is only the result of Ray and I constantly helping each other towards that end."
"In the end, Eames design is far more than the sum of its parts--it is beyond a chair, a photo or a house. Charles and Ray Eames designed a unique and compelling world. They designed a life."
In 2010, Larry Weinberg wrote of the importance of this particular auction: "Before the Italian sale, before the Louis Kahn house, before the $500,000 Noguchi coffee table, and before branded luxury, there was the Treadway/Toomey Eames auction held on May 23, 1999. For Richard Wright, who curated and produced the auction, this represented a point of departure from Treadway, where he had worked for a number of years, and an early collaboration with Julie Thoma Wright, his wife and business partner-to-be. For the market, the auction represented a succession of firsts: first all-Eames sale; first Ray Eames splint sculpture to be offered for sale; and first catalog without a logo on the cover, with the title running across two pages, and with photos bleeding across pages.
"Soon after the Eames sale, Richard founded Wright, his eponymous auction house, which has since become a force in the modern design and art markets, elevating Richard to first-tier status as a market-maker and connoisseur. In the spring of 1999, however, Richard still worked with Treadway, and his future plans were still on the drawing board.
The Eames auction would give Richard a chance to show what he could do, both for himself and for the design world. Over a period of two years, Richard assembled a collection of Eames material, reflecting his own interest and belief in the work of Charles and Ray. Highlights included the well-edited Breeze-Stewart collection; a trove of Eamesiana from an estate sale of a distant Eames relative that Richard said he was proud to handle; and the fluid Ray Eames splint sculpture, important for both aesthetic and historical reasons—it helped put Ray’s contribution back into the equation. Early designs, production variations, and prototypes were featured. The auction was pitched to collectors, and timed to coincide with a major Eames retrospective opening in Washington, D.C.
"Wright’s timing, as it would often be, was impeccable. Collector interest in the Eames’ work ran high, supported by renewed attention from shelter magazines. Recent reproductions from Modernica and Design Within Reach added publicity, without yet cluttering the field. The tech-fueled economy was booming.
"Eames collectors were—and probably still are—an obsessive and determined bunch. In the late 90’s, we (guilty) shared a sense of discovery, not just of the Eames oeuvre but of a body of exuberant and innovative work that was American mid-century design. Still, the greatest enthusiasm was reserved for things Eames. People who otherwise, and later, would champion Line Vautrin, Paul Evans, and Ado Chale, spent inordinate amounts of time rhapsodizing about zinc screws, rope braids, screw-in feet, and early Evans labels, and speaking in shorthand—DCW, ESU, 670 ottoman in rosewood with down fill. Technical and chronological details mattered, a lot.
"The sale whipped this crowd into a frenzy. The results surprised even Richard. One hundred percent of the lots sold, with many achieving stunning prices—a child’s chair brought $15,000 (try repeating that now), a lot of letters from Charles to the Saarinens brought $5,000, and a slunk skin plywood chair in pristine condition brought $35,000. Nothing, however, topped the whopping $130,000 commanded by the splint sculpture, on an estimate of $25,000-35,000.
"The success of the Eames auction solidified Richard’s position in the design community. More, it gave him the courage and the means to start his own business. Looking back at the catalog and the sale, Richard is amazed—amazed perhaps by his audacity of concept and design, or perhaps by his subsequent run of success. The ripples from the Eames sale would help transform the market for mid-century design, as other auction houses scrambled to gain a share of this increasingly lucrative sector. Last month Richard revisited this idea with his second all-Eames auction. Unfortunately, the centerpiece lot—the Neuhart archive of Eames ephemera—estimated at $150,000-$200,000—was withdrawn due to a contest over title. As Richard noted, it’s hard to go home again."