A favor returned

In 1959, the US government asked George Nelson to design the United States pavilion for the national exhibition in Moscow, the first cultural exchange program between the US and the Soviet Union since the Russian Revolution. The pavilion was to showcase products manufactured in the United States. Nelson asked the Eameses to produce a film for the pavilion that would depict a day in the life of the United States.

Charles Eames called his friend Henry Luce, chairman of Time-Life, to request permission to use Time-Life’s vast image archive. Luce agreed but told Eames that, one day, he would have to return the favor. The Eames film was titled “Glimpses of the USA,” the first multi-screen slide presentation, and it was a major success.

A year after the Moscow exhibition, Luce called to ask the Eames design team to create a chair for his new building. The Eameses’ response was the Time-Life chair, which we have continued to produce since 1960.

In the headlines

In 1972, the executive chair made headlines when chess genius Bobby Fischer, known for being extremely demanding, included the chair among his many requirements for the 1972 World Championship match against Russian master Boris Spassky. When Spassky saw the chair, he demanded one for himself as well, and a second chair had to be shipped immediately to Iceland, where the tournament was being held.