The midcentury-design duo of Charles and Ray Eames is most famous for their chairs, which are highly sought after by collectors and, according to The Washington Post, status-seeking millennial men. But the Eames’ innovative plywood-molding process was also useful for producing other household items, including radio housings. After the release of the Eames’ LCW chair, electronics companies realized that the same wood-molding process could be adapted to make radios that were more durable, affordable, and lighter than plastic ones, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the 1940s, the Eames partnered with Zenith to produce this mahogany and walnut veneer radio that can be found in the Museum of Art’s Ailsa Mellon Bruce Galleries as part of the Extraordinary Ordinary Things exhibition. Like the famous chairs, these Eames radios have become collectors’ items in their own right, selling for as much as $1,000.
