FOLDING TABLES

DATE - 1947

There was an experimental Eames folding leg table with two u-shaped legs in the Eames show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1946, but it was unstable in practice, and very few were produced. By 1947, the Eameses developed a more substantial folding leg table, building on the original concept, but this time with four straight solid steel legs that folded up and under the top for shipping and storage. 

Additional Information

Customers had the option to have a canvas fastener installed on the underside to keep the legs folded in place as required. The tops were made from single pieces of plywood with rounded corners. They came in natural wood finishes of premium face veneer and also with plastic laminate tops. The legs are solid, chrome-plated steel.  

There are three sizes: a rectangular dining table, a square table that can serve as a dining table extension or a card table, and the IT, or “Incidental Table,” a table with a smaller top and a low height, suitable for use as an end table, or a table for children. Such tables were not parlor tricks for Charles and Ray Eames. To the extent that they could, they tried to always consider ease of shipping and ease of storage when making any of their furniture.

These were originally produced until 1964. They were brought back out in the 1990s, and may well again appear in our catalog.

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