Eames Design

Charles and Ray Eames, the husband-and-wife design team who pioneered economical, mass-produced, curvilinear furniture, created such familiar objects as their eponymous lounge chair, often called a modern interpretation of a 19th-century English club chair. This heavily illustrated company history, a compilation of its major projects, begins with the duo's molded-plywood experiments of the 1940s which spawned aircraft parts, children's toys and folding screens. The book proceeds through the '70s with functional furniture for homes and offices as well as exhibition layouts, audio components, houses designed with Eero Saarinen, graphics and slide shows. Also spotlighted are the Eameses' movies, documentaries ranging from illustrations of communication principles to cultural explorations of Mexico and India. The Neuharts are former colleagues of the Eameses. (Jan.)