Width (Front to Back) :- 3 cm or 1 inch Unique gift Lowest price, opportunity only once. As the nation prospered, desks were becoming de rigueur for wealthy homeowners, as a statement of one’s education and good taste.Art & Collectibles » Sculpture » Figurines » Baby Monk Showpiece Set for Car Dashboard or Desk Decor Smaller and more compact than a tall secretary, the tambour desk was easy to place in the parlor or study. The tambour desk is a variant on a low secretary, a desk on legs topped by a low cabinet with a sliding tambour that could be pulled down to hide drawers and pigeonholes inside. The glass cabinet doors had muntins in designs like Chinese fretwork and Gothic arches.Īn oak desk-on-frame in a guest room provides a quiet spot for correspondence. The high-style secretaries were built of such fine woods as walnut, mahogany, and tiger maple. The top of the cabinet might be plain or highly embellished with carvings, finials, and pediments.Ī wide variety of secretaries were made, from basic pine desks crafted by local cabinetmakers to finely detailed examples made by famous furniture-makers of the period, such as Goddard and Townsend and Duncan Phyfe, in styles including Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton (named for English cabinetmakers whose books were highly influential). Above, drawers or a cabinet with molded or glazed doors allows display space for books and export china. Tall or low, a secretary consists of a slanted lid that flips forward to create a writing surface, concealing (when closed) cubbies and pigeonholes (even secret compartments) and drawers. The secretary (from secretarius, Latin for writer) evolved as a larger and more formal piece of furniture to store books and papers. The need arose for larger desks to store the plethora of printed materials-from books, letters, and calling cards to pamphlets and periodicals.Ī rather plain secretary of the mid-19th century provides cubbies. With economic prosperity and the rise of the middle class, the culture of correspondence made letter-writing a favorite leisure activity. Styles included the early Baroque William and Mary style, often with a drawer beneath the top the very popular Queen Anne style featuring graceful cabriole legs and-for those who could afford it-the more elaborate Chippendale style with its carvings and ball-and-claw feet. It was bothersome to have to remove everything from the lid before opening it, and so slant-front desks evolved with lids that opened forward. They provided a good spot to write when dropped open when the lid was closed, it hid the drawers and compartments inside.
The lid was often slanted and would be flipped up to store materials underneath-a form seen later in schoolhouse desks.ĭrop-front desks were a variation of the escritoires-simple desks with hinged lids. This type was quite functional the top compartment of a desk-on-frame could be lifted off and used elsewhere. Desks were becoming a coveted furniture type.ĭesks-on-frames (or escritoires, as they were called in France) were much like Bible boxes, but set upon stands embellished with turned legs and such decoration as carved skirts and brass fittings.
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By the beginning of the 19th century, most Americans were literate, thanks to Thomas Jefferson and an emphasis on free public education. It doubled as a writing surface or a place to sign documents.
In fact, a Bible box-a plain wooden container with a flat or slanted lid, which held the Bible and important papers-was the earliest desk. Most people couldn’t read or write, and few had books, save perhaps for a family Bible. (Photo: Brian Vanden Brink)įurnishings were sparse in the earliest American homes desks in particular were not commonly found. A slant-top variant of a desk-on-frame, this early example is precursor of the familiar schoolhouse desk.
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