Scope and Content Note
The LC-E14- series contains the majority of the Eames Office 35mm color slides, nearly 300,000 individually mounted slides. The 35 mm slides were used extensively as both raw material for lectures, slide shows, exhibitions and films, as well as to document ongoing projects, experiments, and personal life. Slides were taken by Charles, Ray, and other Eames office staff, and include images from travel, both in the United States and internationally. A small percentage of slides were taken by non-staff members and are documented as such in most cases.
Note about the Eames Office use of the Slide Library
The Eames Office had categories for image quality. "Selects" were considered the best. Next down, would be "1sts", then "2nds". These designations were noted on the Eames individual slide inventory lists found in the boxes. The presence of "Selects" was noted on the front of slide boxes with a red dot. Original slides are often heavily annotated, usually in Ray's handwriting (all caps).
The Prints and Photographs division has identified contact sheets and corresponding negatives showing the Eames office working on slides, in LOT 12186-7, and in large format photographs filed in LOT 13392, as well as elsewhere in the collection.
While the slides make up the pieces to the well-known multi-screen slideshows and lectures produced by the Office, the slides are not in presentation order. Some sequencing information is available on the slides themselves and in supplementary office documentation available in the Prints and Photographs Division. These materials and other documentation from the Eames Office are in the Supplemental Archive for the Work of Charles and Ray Eames. These materials can be requested from a librarian while doing research in the Reading Room. Related materials in the form of audio recordings of the Charles Eliot Norton lecture series (which included some of the more famous slide shows) are available in the Recorded Sound Research Center. Further documentation and scripts for some shows are held in the Manuscript Division.