1967 Prototype Alexander Girard/Ray Eames/Charles Eames Coffee Table
About the Item
- Creator:Alexander Girard (Designer),Herman Miller (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 30 in (76.2 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1967
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:
Alexander Girard
The director of design for the textiles department at Herman Miller, Inc., from 1952 to 1973, mid-century modern visionary Alexander Girard introduced bright, bouncy colors to upholstery and drapery fabrics, created jaunty graphics for marketing and advertising materials and devised motifs for everything from textiles to ceramics based on his true love: folk art from cultures around the globe.
The son of an American mother and an Italian father, Girard (known as Sandro to his friends) was born in New York City in 1907 but raised in Florence. He came from a creative family — his father was a master woodworker — and Girard began drawing and making his own playthings as a youngster. He had a fascination for nativity crèche tableaux, an enthusiasm that likely was the germ for his later interest in folk art. He went on to earn degrees in architecture at schools in both Rome and London before returning to New York in the 1930s and working in interior design.
By the 1940s, he and his wife, Susan, had moved to Detroit, where Girard was head of design for Detrola, a firm specializing in tabletop radios. The elegant bentwood housings that he developed for the devices won him acclaim, but, more importantly, at Detrola he met Charles Eames. The two became lifelong friends, and it was Eames who drew Girard toward Herman Miller, which had no dedicated textile department until Girard arrived, and most of its furniture was upholstered in mundane, “safe” hues. Girard changed all that, introducing fabrics in vivid shades of red, orange, yellow and blue. His early designs incorporated geometric motifs — stripes, circles, square, triangles and such. But toward the end of the 1950s he began to introduce folk art themes into his designs.
Girard did not collect important or expensive folk pieces. Rather he was drawn to simple objects such as handmade toys, figurines and models of animals, buildings and plants. The fabrics that emerged had whimsical, lighthearted motifs depicting, for example, angels, children, birds and flowers. Toward the end of his term with Herman Miller, in an effort to achieve what he termed “aesthetic functionalism,” Girard produced a group of what he called “Environmental Enrichment” pieces — silk-screened cotton panels emblazoned with various graphic designs, from bold geometric patterns to folk art themes. They were meant to divide spaces in offices or the home in lieu of walls while simultaneously functioning as art. Today, panels of vintage Girard upholstery textiles have become premium collectibles. The designer's furniture is less well known, primarily because most of it was created for private commissions.
Girard’s most lasting contribution may be his folk art collection. He and Susan had begun gathering pieces shortly after their marriage, in 1936. By the 1970s, they had amassed the world’s largest collection of cross-cultural folk art, composed of more than 100,000 pieces from around the world. The Girards donated their holdings to the Museum of International Folk Art, in Santa Fe (where they had moved in the ’60s), quintupling the institution’s collection, and a new wing — named for the Girards — had to be built to hold it.
Find a striking range of vintage Alexander Girard seating, tables, textiles and other furnishings on 1stDibs.
Herman Miller
No other business of its kind did more than the Herman Miller Furniture Company to introduce modern design into American homes. Working with legendary designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Alexander Girard, the Zeeland, Michigan-based firm fostered some of the boldest expressions of what we now call mid-century modern style. In doing so, Herman Miller produced some of the most beautiful, iconic and, one can even say, noblest chairs, sofas, tables and other furniture ever.
Founded in 1923, Herman Miller was originally known for grand historicist bedroom suites: heavily ornamented wood furniture that appealed to a high-minded, wealthier clientele. The company — named for its chief financial backer — began to suffer in the early 1930s as the Great Depression hit, and D.J. De Pree, the company’s CEO, feared bankruptcy. In 1932, aid came in the form of Gilbert Rohde, a self-taught furniture designer who had traveled widely in Europe, absorbing details of the Art Deco movement and other modernist influences. After persuading De Pree that the growing middle class required smaller, lighter household furnishings, Rohde set a new course for Herman Miller, creating sleek chairs, tables and cabinetry that were the essence of the Streamline Moderne style.
Rohde died suddenly in 1944. The following year, De Pree turned to George Nelson, an architect who had written widely about modern furniture design. Under Nelson’s leadership, Herman Miller would embrace new technologies and materials and audacious biomorphic forms.
Some of the pieces the company produced are now emblems of 20th century American design, including the Eames lounge chair and ottoman and Nelson’s Marshmallow sofa and Coconut chair. Such instantly recognizable furnishings have become timeless — staples of a modernist décor; striking, offbeat notes in traditional environments.
Find a range of vintage Herman Miller office chairs, desks, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lebanon, PA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- 1967 Rare Alexander Girard/Ray Eames/Charles Eames Coffee Table w/ Gold LaminateBy Alexander Girard, Herman MillerLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is an exceptionally rare coffee table designed by renowned designers Alexander Girard, Ray Eames, and Charles Eames. This design was part of a table collection, which...Category
Vintage 1960s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- 1967 Rare Alexander Girard & Charles Eames Coffee Table with Black Laminate TopBy Herman Miller, Alexander GirardLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is an exceptionally rare coffee table designed by renowned designers Alexander Girard and Charles Eames. This design was part of a table collection, which was worked ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- 2006 Herman Miller Ray & Charles Eames CTW Round Coffee Table Wood in White AshBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a 2006 production CTW (coffee table wood), designed by Ray and Charles Eames, produced by Herman Miller. This example was specified in white ash and came from an a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood, Ash
- 1970s Herman Miller La Fonda Coffee / End Table by Ray & Charles Eames in MarbleBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a rare and original La Fonda coffee / end table, designed by Ray and Charles Eames as part of their work for the La Fonda Del Sol restaurant by Alexander Girard. T...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Metal
- 1970s Herman Miller Eames Girard La Fonda End Coffee Table w/ Round Slate TopBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a La Fonda end or coffee table, produced by Herman Miller and designed by Ray and Charles Eames. This series was designed for the La Fonda restaurant, designed by ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsAluminum, Chrome
- 1985 Richard Schultz for Conde House Prototype Large Low Coffee Table SignedBy Richard SchultzLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a Richard Schultz prototype coffee table, designed for Conde House, circa 1985. For many decades, this was used as Richard Schultz and his family's coffee table in...Category
Vintage 1980s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Coffee Table by Alexander Girard & Charles Eames for La Fonda NYC 1960By Alexander GirardLocated in Jersey City, NJAlexander Girard designed coffee or cocktail table for La Fonda de Sol Restaurant in Manhattan's Time & Life building in 1960 where he designed the furniture, dinnerware and logos an...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
- Alexander Girard Coffee Table by Herman MillerBy Alexander Girard, Herman MillerLocated in Highland, INAlexander Girard's model #66350 coffee table was part of a suite of furniture originally designed for Braniff Airlines. Produced by Herman Miller for a single year in 1967, these rar...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Charles Ray Eames Marble Coffee Side Table Aluminium Group Couch TableBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Telgte, DECharles Ray Eames marble coffee side table Aluminium Group couch table An Eames Aluminum Group couch table with original marble top and an old four-foot ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Aluminum, Steel
- Charles and Ray Eames CTW 'Coffee Table Wood' for Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Charles EamesLocated in Saint Louis, MOEames for Herman Miller Coffee Table ("CTW"). Iconic Mid-Century Modern designer coffee table bearing "Eames Herman Miller" label. Excellent figuring in the birch wood grain. Bentwoo...Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBirch, Bentwood
- Charles and Ray Eames CTW Coffee Table in Plywood Herman Miller 2000sBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLCharles and Ray Eames CTW Coffee Table in Plywood Herman Miller 2000s. Molded birch plywood classic mid-century design. Early 2000's production.Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Coc...
MaterialsPlywood
- "La Fonda" Marble Top Coffee Table by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in San Diego, CAA gorgeous "La Fonda" coffee table designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller with original Botticinno marble top and polished aluminum base, circa 1970s. This rare table wa...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Aluminum
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
A Guide to Herman Miller’s Most Iconic Furniture
The prolific manufacturer has partnered with many of the world’s top designers since opening its doors in 1923. Here are some of the company’s greatest hits, which helped transform the American home and office.