Herman Miller Archives

Simple Storage Cabinet Proves to Be Mid-Century Gem

(P.S. It Sold for a Lot of Money!)

What’s in your grandmother’s living room? If there is a simple yellow bookshelf and storage unit, do not donate it or throw it away. It might be both valuable and rare. A newlywed couple’s purchase in the 1950s of a bright yellow, plastic-coated plywood storage unit for $100 has paid off 70 years later. The rare, first-edition Eames Storage Unit owned by the now 98-year-old widow recently sold at auction for $48,000 to the Eames House, the former home of Charles and Ray Eames in Los Angeles.

Just starting their household in the 1950s, Maurice and Nancy Allen of Franklin, Michigan, bought the Eames Storage Unit for $100. It was a geometric and brightly-colored lightweight system of freestanding cabinets made of plastic-coated plywood, enameled Masonite, and steel framing. After her husband’s death, Nancy, 98, moved to Pennsylvania to be with her children. Her son and daughter hired Le Shoppe Too and Detroit Fine Art Appraisals in Detroit to go through their mother’s furniture and other possessions. It turns out the Eames Storage Unit was designed post-World War II by Charles and Ray Eames, two of the most influential American designers in the 20th century. The Herman Miller Furniture Company began marketing these storage units in 1950 – shortly before Maurice and Nancy spotted one while shopping for apartment furniture.

Photo: Amanda Cohen

Interest Still Strong in George Nelson Modern Furniture

Modern American mid-century furniture continues to get high prices and attract collectors. A recent Wright auction in Chicago included the designs of George Nelson (1908–1986). A 1955 Comprehensive Storage System by Nelson brought the third highest price at $8,450. Nelson’s goal was to make storage efficient and aesthetically pleasing at the same time. That was […]

George Nelson

Furniture from the 1950s continues to be hot among both new and longtime collectors. And no designer says “fifties” like George Nelson (1908-1986), the design director at Herman Miller Furniture Co. from 1945 to 1972. His contract allowed him to work outside the Herman Miller Furniture Company, and in 1947 he opened his own design […]

George Nelson Furniture

Today original designs by George Nelson and Associates attract prices into the hundreds of thousands. A dozen pieces sold in a September 2015 sale at Wright Auctions in Chicago, where prices ranged from $1,875 for a walnut and chrome desk, to $17,500 for a green Marshmallow sofa. George Nelson (1908-1986) was the Director of Design […]

Marshmallow Sofa Creator Dies

Irving Harper, a pioneer of mid-20th-century design, died on August 4, 2015, at the age of 99. Harper worked for George Nelson & Associates on designs for Herman Miller Furniture Company from 1947 until 1963. His creations include the iconic Marshmallow Sofa (as well as the company’s red M logo), and the Ball Clock and the Sunburst Clock for the Howard Miller Clock Company. But industrial designers were rarely given public credit, and George Nelson is listed as the designer.

Harper was inspired in 1956 by some molded 12-inch diameter plastic discs that he upholstered and put together on a long metal frame. The strange-looking sofa was advertised as being more comfortable than it looked. (I sat on one and was very uncomfortable because I felt the spaces between the discs.) About 150 were sold by 1961 for $452 each, about $4,000 in today’s money. The sofa is still made by the Herman Miller company. Price — $5,499. A rare original 104-inch marshmallow sofa auctioned for over $112,000 in May 2015.

George Nelson “Marshmallow” sofa, enameled and chrome-plated steel, wool upholstery, Herman Miller Furniture Co., designed 1954-55, 30 in. h. by 51 in. l. by 28 in. d., $10,000. (LA Modern)

George Nelson’s Nifty ’50s Designs

Furniture from the 1950s continues to be hot among both new and longtime collectors. And no designer says “fifties” like George Nelson (1908-1986), the design director at Herman Miller Furniture Co. from 1945 to 1972. The Nelson pieces shown sold at two recent “modern” auctions, where prices for his furniture ranged from $1,250 for a […]

Midcentury Modern Furniture Marks

Midcentury modern furniture was developed in the 1930s and was influenced by the practical designs of the German Bauhaus group. By the 1950s, the machine-made, streamlined furniture was being mass-produced to meet strong postwar demand. Many new and innovative pieces were created by designers who are now well-known among collectors. The marks or labels on […]