2008 42c Charles & Ray Eames: Laminated Wood Sculpture, First Day Cover

U.S. #4333m
Charles and Ray Eames
Molded Plywood Sculpture

Issue Date: June 17, 2008
City: Santa Monica, CA

Charles and Ray Eames used their many talents in a variety of areas.  Best known for their innovative furniture, the couple also designed homes, exhibits, toys, fabrics, films, and more. 

Using a machine they called “Kazam!” (because it bent plywood like magic into curvy, organic shapes) the Eames began experimenting with molded plywood in their California apartment.  Made from wood, plaster, metal coils, and a bicycle pump, “Kazam!” used heat and pressure to form molded plywood.  With “Kazam!” the Eames’ developed molded plywood splints for the U.S. Navy during World War II, and their famous plywood furniture with multiple compound curves that could be mass-produced.  They also made playful decorative sculptures, a little-known aspect of their design work.  The molded plywood elephant shown on this cover served both as a child’s toy and as furniture, as it was large enrough to sit on.  Like their modern furniture and house designs, the Eameses’ sculptures were created from a relatively affordable material used in a new way.  The sculptures are a good example of how Eameses’ designs marry beauty with function. 

In 2008, the Eames Molded Plywood Sculpture was featured on a 42¢ stamp, one of a pane of 16 issued by the U.S. Postal Service to honor the contributions of Charles and Ray Eames to American Design.