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Object Timeline

1942

  • Work on this object began.

1986

  • We acquired this object.

2000

2015

2016

2025

  • You found it!

Transportation Leg Splint Leg Splint

This is a leg splint. It was designed by Charles Eames and Ray Kaiser Eames and manufactured by Evans Products Company. It is dated 1942 and we acquired it in 1986. Its medium is laminated and molded birch wood. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

In 1942, husband-and-wife designers Charles and Ray Eames applied their experiments in molding plywood chairs to the war effort. They developed molded plywood splints to substitute for the existing metal. Taking advantage of the military’s technology and the Evans Product Company’s expertise, the mass-producer and distributor of the splints, the Eameses perfected their molded plywood techniques. 150,000 splints were produced for the Navy, which praised them as life-saving, lightweight, and inexpensive. The splint’s biomorphic sculptural form and functional design led to the Eameses’ influential molded plywood chairs.

This object was donated by Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor. It is credited Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.

  • Child's Chair (USA)
  • molded laminated plywood, red stain.
  • Gift of Mrs. Eric Larrabee.
  • 1991-144-1
  •

Our curators have highlighted 6 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Radio Radio
  • bentwood, plastic.
  • Gift of George R. Kravis II.
  • 2016-5-18

Its dimensions are

L x W x D: 106.7 × 21.6 × 9.5 cm (42 in. × 8 1/2 in. × 3 3/4 in.)

It has the following markings

S2-1790 stamped on surface, in blac

Cite this object as

Transportation Leg Splint Leg Splint; Designed by Charles Eames (American, 1907–1978), Ray Kaiser Eames (American, 1912–1988); Manufactured by Evans Products Company (United States); USA; laminated and molded birch wood; L x W x D: 106.7 × 21.6 × 9.5 cm (42 in. × 8 1/2 in. × 3 3/4 in.); Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor; 1986-99-43

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Energizing the Everyday: Gifts From the George R. Kravis II Collection.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18621877/ |title=Transportation Leg Splint Leg Splint |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=10 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>