DESIGNED BY CHARLES AND RAY EAMES, 1948-50, MANUFACTURED BY ZENITH PLASTICS, GARDENA, CALIFORNIA FOR HERMAN MILLER, CIRCA 1952

The DAW formed part of the Eames's revolutionary 'Plastic Shell' group of chairs which developed from the ideas earlier explored by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen in their series of prototype chairs incorporating single-form moulded plywood seat shells which were produced for The Museum of Modern Art's 'Organic Design in Home Furnishings' competition of 1940-1. Having later submitted a number of prototype chair designs with stamped metal seat shells at MoMA's 'International Competition for Low Cost Furniture' in 1948, the Eames's were awarded a grant by MoMA. They were then sponsored by Herman Miller, Inc. to develop the chairs in plastic (fibreglass) in collaboration with the Engineering Department at UCLA and Zenith Plastics. The DAW was in development for three years, at considerable cost to all involved; Zenith plastics finally began mass-producing the armchairs for Herman Miller in 1950. They were available in a range of colours and bases, and were the first truly mass-produced chairs made using un-lined plastic. The DAW was discontinued by Herman Miller circa 1955 in the face of prohibitively high production costs.
See: Neuhart, pp. 138-41.