TL
02-Jul-12
4-star and 5-star Chair Bases in the '70's
I think I read somewhere that throughout the '60's and into the '70's, many swivel chairs such as the HM Eames Aluminum Group and Knoll Pollock office chairs were made with the 4-star base. Then, sometime in the '70's, the government required such chairs to be made with the 5-star base we see today. I guess it was supposed to be more stable. I was wondering if this was accurate, and if so, what was the year this requirement was imposed? Knowing the year would help date some chairs I have. Thanks.
posted by swer37
 [edit]
 
02-Jul-12
Yes, it's true...
... but the safety regulations changed at various times in different countries, and manufacturers implemented the change gradually throughout the 70s and 80s. For most manufacturers, there wasn't even a sharp transition from 4- to 5-star base across all product lines, let alone a sharp transition worldwide or across any country, so the base style probably won't tell you much about your chairs' date of manufacture.
posted by fastfwd (USA)
 [edit]
 
02-Jul-12
Casters
My own Eames Alu group chair is a fairly recent production with four legs. I just checked the Vitra website and it appears that the chairs are still produced with four legs unless they have casters attached, in which case the are given the five leg treatment.
posted by H.moon (UK)
 [edit]
 

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