“These are actually really valuable chairs,” said city spokeswoman Gail Martineau, gripping a big fiberglass scoop that held the rear ends of city visitors for nearly 50 years. “People collect these.”
In fact, they are Herman Miller Eames fiberglass shell chairs, authenticity stamped on their undersides, the Miller name there alongside the occasional piece of ancient chewing gum.
Martineau’s fiancé was the first to recognize the value in the seats, 89 of them pried out of the city’s meeting spot during a much-needed, $30,000 overhaul last summer.
Since then, they’ve been selling on eBay at a steady clip, pulling in nearly $5,000 for the city so far — more than the cost of the unremarkable black fabric chairs that replaced them.
“That would have gone into the trash,” Martineau said. “But instead, we’re making money back for the city for it.”
Charles and Ray Eames began selling their molded fiberglass chairs in 1950, but the line was eventually discontinued because of the environmental concerns attached to fiberglass production, according to the Herman Miller website.
The chair returned in 2004 — this time made of recyclable polypropylene — but there are still plenty of the original chairs around, especially on eBay.
The Whitehall chairs come in four colors, and none of them have legs. They’ve been pulling in an average of $110 apiece. There are no clear favorites, though seats with bolts don’t seem to sell nearly as well. Two gray chairs sold for $360; two orange, for $157.50.
Mark Heimrich had never heard of the Eames chair, but now he’s selling them. Heimrich, a co-owner of Ship Print eSell in Upper Arlington, has listed, packaged and mailed nearly every Whitehall chair. He had to buy boxes specially to fit them. The demand surprised him.
He’s used to that, though. It’s hard to say what people are going to buy, or what’s going to be popular tomorrow. Hummel figurines don’t sell anymore, and neither do Beanie babies. But he had a guy bring in a collection of Jimmy Buffett hats.
Those sold.
Courtesy: The Columbus Dispatch
