Monday, November 3, 2014

For kids: Eames elephant

In 1945, Charles and Ray Eames came up with an idea for a menagerie of plywood animals that included an elephant, a frog, a seal, a bear, and a horse. Unfortunately, only the elephant made it to the prototype stage, and it proved to be too difficult and costly to mass produce. The two prototypes were displayed at the Museum of Modern Art from 1945-1946, and the only one that survives today is in the care of the Eames family.

In 2007, Vitra released a limited edition of the plywood elephant in natural and red stained maple. All 2000 sold out immediately at $1900 each, turning them into instant collector's items. In 2009, Vitra released a second series of the elephants in plastic. They are available in white, light pink, ice gray, classic red, and dark lime and are currently priced at $330.

From vitra.com and nikkiikkin.com


One of the two original prototypes
nikkiikkin.com

Vitra plywood Eames elephants
miniaturechairman.com

Vitra plastic Eames elephants
vitra.com
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7 comments:

  1. Ray G November 3, 2014 at 1:31 AM

    These are sooo good!

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  2. Ton S. November 3, 2014 at 1:53 PM

    They're so cool, I would hesitate to have kids play with them, haha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dana@Mid2ModNovember 3, 2014 at 2:15 PM

      I'm pretty sure my grandsons could reduce them to splinters in short order. :) However, the older one did see this post and thought they were really cool.

      Delete
  3. Lee Ann Howlett - Audiobook NarratorNovember 3, 2014 at 3:42 PM

    I've always loved the element of whimsy in this design!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dana@Mid2ModNovember 3, 2014 at 6:35 PM

      I've always felt that a little whimsy never hurt anyone. That's why I have my vintage bird collection and my wooden monkeys. :)

      Delete
  4. MickNovember 4, 2014 at 12:03 PM

    Love it! I wonder what the others would have looked like!

    ReplyDelete