Eames RAR Rocking Chair, 1950

RAR rocking chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1950 for Herman Miller.

The Eameses had first used fibreglass cloth and plastic resin material as screens in their Case Study House of 1949.
 

They worked with the specialist firm Zenith Plastics to develop a plastic version of a design for stamped metal chair. The first models were exhibited in the 1950 Low Cost Furniture Competition exhibition. The tooling and engineering costs were extremely high, though conviction for the design paved the way to the production of a highly versatile, low cost armchair shell.

The new design offered high comfort levels and durability without the need for upholstery. The use of rubber fixing points beneath the chairs allowed for a host of base options to be combined with the fibreglass seat.

The Rocking Armchair Rod (RAR) was by no means the best selling within the family of chairs and in its infancy the production of the rocking base was reserved for gifting to new mothers at Herman Miller. The design is however both iconic and symbolic of the flexibility of the groundbreaking range.

The chair offered is in ‘Elephant Grey’ fibreglass and was originally purchased in USA.