One of the nice things about moving to Western Michigan is landing smack dab into design history. Charles and Ray Eames began their relationship with Herman Miller in the 1940's, and Herman Miller has been expertly realizing their iconic modern design ever since. Zeeland is still the headquarters...the manufacturing trucks pass through town every day, they are a reassuring and comfortable sight. It is pleasing indeed to come across original ephemera from time to time. This is one C. Cook's drafting template from Herman Miller. As you can see, designs for the Eames Shell Chair and the Nelson Sling Sofa are here, and the original furniture is still common enough that my tiny outdoor patio has four of the stacking chairs in the summer. Computer Assisted Design meant the end for this plastic tool. Design is generally discussed as "before" CAD and "after" CAD. There came a day when all the worker bees at Herman Miller were told to lay down their pencils and pick up the mouse, presumably these templates were collected by staff and discarded en masse. Perhaps a few old-timers held on to them in case the damn computer broke. I imagine a few still miss the Scumex. (look it up)
Herman Miller Drafting Template 1979 Collection Jim Linderman
