Skip to main content

Desks and Writing Tables

6,244
1,673
91
to
969
3,832
3,772
8,008
6,674
6,877
Height
to
Width
to
Depth
to
6,828
3,267
1,275
1,087
5,675
1,587
1,258
Desks and Writing Tables For Sale
Late Victorian Dutch Marquetry Writing Desk
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Late 19th century Dutch Marquetry Writing Desk with 6 drawers. Intricately crafted with traditional marquetry techniques it is adorned with stunning inlay patterns of different color...
Category

19th Century American Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Kingwood, Oak

19th Century Louis XVI Bureau à Cylindre or Roll Top Desk
Located in Winter Park, FL
A fine early 19th century Louis XVI period bureau à cylindre, or roll top desk, made of solid walnut with marquetry veneers of walnut, mahogany and cherry. Pine as a secondary wood. ...
Category

Early 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Fine American-Made Leather Top Brass Ormolu Louis XV Style Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This is a beautiful American-made desk with age -crackled leather and a nice original ebonized frame and gold pinstriping with brass ormolu. Measures 67 wide x 30 tall x 33.25 deep...
Category

1980s American Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Mario Botta “Tesi” Dining Table for Alias, Italy 1980
Located in Argelato, BO
A very rare desk/dining table designed by Mario Botta, model “Tesi”, manufactured by Alias in, Italy around 1980. This eye-catching piece has a clear glass rectangular top allows th...
Category

1980s Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Blue Painted Pine Farm Table Writing Table With 2 Drawers, Sweden circa 1860-80
Located in Round Top, TX
The cheerful blue painted finish has a distressed patina revealing years of use in this small farm table from Sweden. Notice the two usable drawers with brass pulls that add function...
Category

Late 19th Century Swedish Country Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

19th Century Mahogany Writing Table Antique Bobbin Turned Desk Side Dressing Bed
Located in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
Introducing an Antique Fine Quality 19th Century Bobbin Turned Mahogany Writing Table, versatile as a desk, dressing, lamp, or large bedside table, showcasing a decorative design wit...
Category

19th Century Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood, Mahogany

Victorian Burr Walnut Davenport Writing Table Desk - C. 1870
Located in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
Presenting an exquisite Victorian Burr and Figured Walnut Davenport Writing Table Desk dating back to approximately 1870. This charming piece exudes age and character, making it a ra...
Category

19th Century British Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Classic Bamboo & Lacquer Campaign Desk With Chair By E. Murio
Located in Austin, TX
East meets West, Bamboo meets Lacquer. Add a generous helping of mid-century charm to your surroundings with this Bamboo & Lacquer Campaign Desk by Murio. Serve your workspace needs ...
Category

1970s Philippine Campaign Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Upholstery, Bamboo

Italian 18th Century Walnut Desk with Carved Reeded Apron, Drawers and Doors
Located in Atlanta, GA
An Italian walnut desk from the 18th century with three drawers, pull-out, two doors and curving legs. This exquisite Italian walnut desk from the 18th century combines timeless styl...
Category

18th Century Italian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Walnut

Wicker Desk & Chair
Located in Stamford, CT
Vintage wicker reed/rattan table or writing desk with a wicker chair. Bothe pieces are early 19th century and freshly painted light grey. Excellent vintage condition.
Category

1930s American Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Reed, Wicker

Antique Burr Walnut Leather Top Pedestal Desk
Located in London, GB
A fantastic antique burr walnut leather top pedestal desk. This is in the Georgian style, it dates from around the 1930’s. The quality is superb, this has a beautiful inset leather ...
Category

1930s British Georgian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Walnut

Art Nouveau Mahogany stepped desk
Located in Paris, FR
Elegant stepped desk in mahogany and mahogany veneer. Gilt bronze frame opening with a drawer inlaid with leaf and flower stems. The front features a drawer with an ormolu catch and ...
Category

1890s French Art Nouveau Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Crooked Desk by Nazara Lazaro
Located in Geneve, CH
Crooked desk by Nazara Lazaro Dimensions: H 75 cm x W 170 cm x D 96 cm Materials: Massive oak with oil wax surface Also available in natural massive oak, walnut, and white lacquered...
Category

2010s German Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

French Wood Table by Charles Dudouyt
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Great wood table by Charles Dudouyt, made in France, 1940's. Rectangular top with four thick carved wood legs and ball feet. Newly refinished in medium stain showing nice grain in w...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Mid-Century Louis XVI Style Inlaid Wood Desk, France 1960s
Located in Palermo, IT
Mid-Century Louis XVI style inlaid wood desk, France 1960s Three drawers. Bronze details. Good condition, small signs of aging. We guarantee adequate packaging and will ship via DH...
Category

1960s French Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Early 20th century Spanish writing table
Located in Malton, GB
This is a great designed early 20th century Spanish writing table. Made from solid walnut with a single slab top with an incredible patina. The carved drawer fronts give this a great...
Category

Early 20th Century Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Pixel Desk by Morgan Clayhall, sculptural steel and marble
Located in Toronto, CA
The Pixel Desk is designed and finish by hand in our Toronto studio The Pixel Desk is designed with creating a whimsical interpretation of deconstructionism in the breaking apart of...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble, Steel

Antique French Louis XVI Gold Bronze Mounted Kingwood Writing Table, Circa 1885
Located in New Orleans, LA
Antique French Louis XVI Gold Bronze Mounted Kingwood Writing Table, Circa 1885.
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Alvar Aalto Rare Writing Table from Otaniemi Technical University, 1960s
Located in Helsinki, FI
Rare writing table, designed by Alvar Aalto, 1960s. Birch with linoleum table top. Later modified with the reading lamp. The writing table is from the Otaniemi Technical University. ...
Category

1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Stunning Mid-Victorian Oak Twin Pedestal Partners Desk
Located in Crawley, GB
We delight to offer for sale this stunning restored mid Victorian twin partners desk , the moulded top inset with tooled green leather above an arrangement of four frieze drawers and...
Category

Mid-19th Century British Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Oak

Minimalist Solid Desk in Oak France 1960s
Located in Antwerp, BE
Minimalist dark stained oak desk with dovetail construction connecting the top to the side panels in solid oak with a floating part for 2 drawers. A beautiful piece of craftsmanship ...
Category

1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Art Deco Desk, France 1940s
Located in Greding, DE
Art Deco desk with slightly curved table top and two drawer elements with four drawers each. These are lockable and the handles are made of elegant bars. The desk can be positioned a...
Category

1940s French Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

VINTAGE BURR WALNUT DRESSING TABLE DESK RAiSED ON QUEEN ANNE LEGS J1
Located in Pulborough, GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this Vintage Burr Walnut Dressing Table. This vintage Burr Walnut dressing table desk, raised on Queen Anne legs, is a stunning piece that exude...
Category

20th Century British Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

19th Century French Walnut writing table
Located in Eindhoven, NL
Beautiful antique walnut writing table with brown leather top. The table has 3 drawers on one side and the other sides are not drawers but look like they are. The table is richly dec...
Category

1870s French Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Lovely Mid-Victorian Burr Walnut Kidney Shaped Table
Located in Crawley, GB
We delight to offer for sale this lovely mid-Victorian burr walnut kidney shaped stretcher table, the top inset with tooled red leather above a carved base , in amazing condition . D...
Category

Mid-19th Century British Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Walnut

Fine Quality Antique 19th Century Oak Writing Table - Desk Side Dressing Bed
Located in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
Introducing an Antique Fine Quality 19th Century Oak Writing Table, which also serves as a desk, dressing lamp, or large bedside table, showcasing a classical Georgian design. Recen...
Category

19th Century Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

FORM(LA) Grinza Desk 66"L x 27"W x 32"H Calacatta Viola Marble
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A BOLD AND EXPRESSIVE FORM WHERE GEOMETRY AND HARMONY COLLIDE. ITALIAN FOR WRINKLE, 'GRINZA'S ZIG-ZAG STRUCTURE' IS BOTH TIMELESS AND ELEGANT. DIMENSIONS: 66”L x 27”W x 32”H: - 4"...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Travertine, Marble

Beautiful Military Campaign Twin Pedestal Desk
Located in Crawley, GB
We delight to offer for sale this lovely yew wood military campaign style twin pedestal desk, rectangular top with inset leather , fitted with eleven drawers, brass brackets and rece...
Category

Mid-20th Century British Campaign Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

FORM(LA) Grinza Desk 66"L x 27"W x 32"H Verde Antigua Marble
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A BOLD AND EXPRESSIVE FORM WHERE GEOMETRY AND HARMONY COLLIDE. ITALIAN FOR WRINKLE, 'GRINZA'S ZIG-ZAG STRUCTURE' IS BOTH TIMELESS AND ELEGANT. DIMENSIONS: 66”L x 27”W x 32”H: - 4"...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Travertine, Marble

Antique Wooden Glass and Brass Top Wash Stand
By Al Black
Located in Weymouth, MA
Antique authentic wooden wash stand. Top has three sided ledge and glass insert with brass corners. Original wood has a fine patina.
Category

Early 20th Century American American Colonial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Glass, Wood

FORM(LA) Grinza Desk 66"L x 27"W x 32"H Rojo Alicante Marble
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A BOLD AND EXPRESSIVE FORM WHERE GEOMETRY AND HARMONY COLLIDE. ITALIAN FOR WRINKLE, 'GRINZA'S ZIG-ZAG STRUCTURE' IS BOTH TIMELESS AND ELEGANT. DIMENSIONS: 66”L x 27”W x 32”H: - 4"...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Travertine, Marble

Chinese Chippendale Painted Desk
Located in Westwood, NJ
Finished in a striking grey limestone, this desk measures 64 inches wide, 30 inches deep, and 30 inches high, perfectly sized for comfortable and stylish productivity. The desk's su...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Chinese Chippendale Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Wood

FORM(LA) Grinza Desk 66"L x 27"W x 32"H Travertino Crema VC
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A BOLD AND EXPRESSIVE FORM WHERE GEOMETRY AND HARMONY COLLIDE. ITALIAN FOR WRINKLE, 'GRINZA'S ZIG-ZAG STRUCTURE' IS BOTH TIMELESS AND ELEGANT. DIMENSIONS: 66”L x 27”W x 32”H: - 4"...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Travertine, Marble

FORM(LA) Grinza Desk 66"L x 27"W x 32"H Diana Rose Marble
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A BOLD AND EXPRESSIVE FORM WHERE GEOMETRY AND HARMONY COLLIDE. ITALIAN FOR WRINKLE, 'GRINZA'S ZIG-ZAG STRUCTURE' IS BOTH TIMELESS AND ELEGANT. DIMENSIONS: 66”L x 27”W x 32”H: - 4"...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Travertine, Marble

FORM(LA) Grinza Desk 66"L x 27"W x 32"H Sofita Beige Marble
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A BOLD AND EXPRESSIVE FORM WHERE GEOMETRY AND HARMONY COLLIDE. ITALIAN FOR WRINKLE, 'GRINZA'S ZIG-ZAG STRUCTURE' IS BOTH TIMELESS AND ELEGANT. DIMENSIONS: 66”L x 27”W x 32”H: - 4"...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Travertine, Marble

Desk table Patrice Maffei for Kappa brushed steel smoked glass 1970
Located in Paris, IDF
A rare brushed stainless steel desk table designed by French designer Patrice Maffei for Kappa editor in the 1970s, it features two locki...
Category

1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Teak desk with 3 side drawers
Located in Brescia, IT
Vintage original 1960s teak desk. This charming piece of furniture embodies the simplicity and practicality typical of Scandinavian design. The compact structure and minimal lines gi...
Category

1960s Scandinavian Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

20th Century Palisander Mahogany Wood Marble French Napoleon III Bureau, 1870s
Located in Vicoforte, Piedmont
French bureau from the end of the 19th century. Finished for the center furniture from the Napoleon III era, finely veneered in palisander and mahogany. Slightly rounded and moved bu...
Category

1870s French Napoleon III Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble

Georgian Desk Mahogany Writing Table Circa 1800
Located in Potters Bar, GB
Georgian Mahogany Writing Table. This Writing Table is Raised upon Tapered Legs with Boxwood Line Inlays. Having an Arrangement of 3 Oak Lined Drawers (note the fine dovetails) Circa...
Category

Early 1800s Georgian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Louis XVI Style Writing Desk
Located in Austin, TX
Writing desk from France in the Louis XVI style. This piece has been ebonized and finished with a lustrous French polish. There are five dovetailed drawers all with brass original ha...
Category

1920s French Louis XVI Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

English partner writing table with green leather decorated surface, ca. 1870
Located in Meulebeke, BE
UK / 1870 / English writing table / wood and leather / antiques A beautiful mid 19th Century partners writing desk / table, made in the UK. The moulded edge top has a green leather...
Category

1780s British Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Stunning Victorian Partners Pedestal Desk
Located in Crawley, GB
We delight to offer for sale this amazing Victorian hardwood partners' pedestal desk, circa 1870, gilt-tooled green leather inset writing surface, triple frieze drawers with Bramah l...
Category

Mid-19th Century British Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Walnut

Antique Hardwood Pedestal Desk
Located in Dorchester, GB
A superb quality English early to mid 20th century pedestal desk. The build quality of this desk is second to none. Fine hand cut dovetailed joints, drawers made from a finely figu...
Category

Early 20th Century British Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Scandinavian Rosewood Conference Table
Located in Dronten, NL
Large Mid-Century Modern stainless steel table with a beautiful rosewood top. Good vintage condition with many superficial scratches on the top but no veneer damage. Could be refinis...
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

French Louis Philippe Desk Writing Table Secret Drawers, 19th Century
Located in Labrit, Landes
French 19th century Louis Philippe exotic wood desk, the top is recovered of coated fabric. This secretary can be all locked. When the desk part is closed, the three top drawers cann...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Louis Philippe Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

18th century solid walnut Spanish table
Located in Malton, GB
This is a stunning genuine 18th century Spanish walnut table. The top is a single piece of walnut full of character and patina. The base design of the legs is gorgeous and have hones...
Category

18th Century Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Spanish Carved Walnut Wood Trestle-Leg Table w/Forged Iron Stretcher, 8+ Ft Long
Located in Atlanta, GA
A gorgeous Spanish carved-walnut trestle table with iron stretcher from the mid 20th century. This vintage table from Spain features a rectangular shaped top, just over 8 feet in len...
Category

Mid-20th Century Spanish Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Iron

Superb Quality Antique Regency Mahogany Free Standing Writing Desk
Located in Suffolk, GB
Superb quality antique regency mahogany free standing writing desk having a superb quality mahogany top with a reeded edge and a red leather writing surface above two drawers and two...
Category

19th Century English Regency Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Other

Industrial Modern Wrought Iron Tilt Top Drafting Desk / Table
By Jorge A. Marien
Located in Weymouth, MA
Extraordinary modern wrought iron and glass tilt top drafting desk/table. Glass top is framed by wrought iron and tilts when the steampunk style handles are loosened. Table can be us...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Central Asian Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Iron

Jean Prouvé, Cité Desk, likely 1940s, original condition
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Cité desk with drawer, designed by Jean Prouvé and made in his workshop, Ateliers Jean Prouvé in Nancy, France, probably 1940s Totally original with cream enamel painted metal frame...
Category

1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

19 century kis barokk iroasztal
Located in Kerepes, HU
Annak ellenére hogy kis méretű es élig kevés hely foglal, több funkció is tud teljes mertekben használni: toalettasztal, kis író asztal egy előtérben meg egy kényelmes dolgozó laptop...
Category

Late 19th Century Hungarian Baroque Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Other

Stickley Brothers Style Antique Mission Oak Arts & Crafts Desk With Bookcases
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional antique Mission or Arts & Crafts writing desk or library table with built-in bookcases In the manner of Stickley Brothers USA, Circa 1900 Solid quarter sawn oak, wi...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Copper

Charlotte Perriand Style Desk, Mid-Century Modern, 1960s
Located in Antwerp, BE
Wooden Desk; working desk; writing table; office furniture; Charlotte Perriand; French design; Mid-Century Modern; 1960s; Desk in the style of French designer Charlotte Perriand, ...
Category

1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

French Louis XV Walnut Side Table or Small Writing Table
Located in Winter Park, FL
A French Louis XV style side table made of solid walnut with hidden desk. Table top slides forward and back lifts up to reveal compartments for letters with two small drawers. Elegan...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Cerused oak three drawer writing desk having pull out slides.
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Cerused oak three drawer writing desk having pull out slides that allow for a generous work area. This desk is hand made in our workshops and comes in a darker version. 83" wide whe...
Category

2010s Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Ernest H. Igl for Bayer AG 'HADI' desk set
Located in Wien, AT
Ernest Igl for Bayer AG, 'Hadi' desk, set including adjustable chair and lamp, polyurethane, Germany, 1970s This design by Ernest Igl truly resembles the ethos of the seventies, fe...
Category

1970s German Post-Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Polyester

Stickley Brothers Antique Mission Oak Arts & Crafts Desk or Library Table
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional antique Mission or Arts & Crafts writing desk or library table By Stickley Brothers USA, Circa 1900 Quarter sawn oak, with original copper hardware. Measures: 60"W...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Copper

Dakota Jackson French Art Deco Postmodern Mahogany Executive Partners Desk 96"
Located in Dayton, OH
Vintage Dakota Jackson post modern Art Deco style executive partners desk featuring mahogany with leather insert and stainless steel frame. A V-Shape pattern veneer top with Black Leather inset. 2 pedestal cabinets below: each with 2 standard drawers and 1 file drawer, front and back. Polished Stainless Steel drawer pulls, post, floor plates, and arced trestle supporting desktop. DJ Chelsea Black Leather, Polished Polyresin finish. Dakota Jackson (born August 24, 1949) is an American furniture designer known for his eponymous furniture brand, Dakota Jackson, Inc.,[1] his early avant-garde works involving moving parts or hidden compartments,[2][3] and his collaborations with the Steinway & Sons piano company.[1] Jackson helped establish the art furniture movement in 1970s SoHo,[4][5] later becoming a celebrity designer in the 1980s.[6][7][8] His background in the world of stage magic helped him get his first commissions and is often cited as the source of his point-of-view.[6][9] Early life Dakota Jackson was born on August 24, 1949, and grew up in the Rego Park neighborhood of Queens, New York. Stage Magic Jackson's father, Jack Malon, was a professional magician.[10] Mr. Malon learned the trade from his own father, who studied stage magic in early 20th century Poland.[1] Jackson began studying magic at a young age and sometimes performed with his father.[11] Jackson's name, in fact, grew out of a road trip to Fargo, North Dakota.[11] Throughout his adolescence and into his early 20s, Jackson immersed himself in the world of magic.[2] In 1963, Jackson began to perform in talent shows at his junior high school, William Cowper JHS 73 (which is known today as The Frank Sansivieri Intermediate School),[12] and at children's birthday parties.[13] Jackson also began to build his own props, including large boxes for sawing a woman in half and small boxes from which doves would emerge in full flight.[11] Jackson acknowledges the importance of these early experiences with magic to his later career as a furniture designer: "The demands of performance taught me how to discipline myself to achieve aesthetic ends."[1][2][14] After Jackson graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1967, he continued performing as a magician, working in art galleries, night clubs, touring in the Catskills, and giving private performances at society events.[2][13][15] When he was 17, Jackson had studied with magician Jack London to learn the dangerous bullet catch trick.[16] "What appealed to me was the notion of doing things that appeared miraculous" Jackson once recalled.[6] "I was interested in spiritualism. I was interested in things like bullet catching, things that really challenged individual sensibilities, that were frightening, on the edge."[2] He didn't find the opportunity to perform the trick publicly until a decade later at Jackson's final professional performance as a magician.[1] It was documented in Andy Warhol's Interview (magazine), in a story titled "Dakota Jackson bites the bullet."[1][16] Jackson admits that he sometimes tires of references to his magician background, although he acknowledges it as an important part of his history.[2] The Downtown Arts Scene In the late 1960s, Jackson moved into a loft on 28th Street in Chelsea.[1][17] Jackson became part of the Downtown scene, a community of "artists, dancers, performers, and musicians" who moved to the neighborhood for the cheap rent and social life.[1][8][17][18] In October 1970, Jackson performed with the Japanese group Tokyo Kid Brothers at New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (also known as Café La MaMa) in a rock musical production called "Coney Island Play" ("Konī airando purē).[19] The show explored themes of cross-cultural communication and understanding[19] and was a follow up to the group's debut performance of "The Golden Bat" at La MaMa earlier that summer.[20][21][22] Jackson played the part of a "clever conjurer."[19] Over the next few years, Jackson became interested in minimalist dance and performed in the dance companies of Laura Dean and Trisha Brown.[2][15][23] Jackson credits his exposure to minimalism and minimalist dance in particular as having had a strong influence on his approach to design; in 1989, Jackson told the Los Angeles Times: For me the essential fineness of a design is in the idea, not the object itself ... In minimalism, the object is pared down to its basic meaning by stripping away all the excrescence ... —those elements that do not contribute to the pure idea.[24] Design career In the early 1970s, as he experimented with performance and dance, Jackson began branching out as a special effects consultant to other magicians, film producers, and musicians[2][23] such as Donna Summer.[6][9] The loft also gave Jackson an opportunity to apply his creativity and building skills: "These were times when lofts were not ... luxury condominiums. These were tough, tough raw spaces ... and we artists, bohemians, creative people, we created our environment. So I had to build".[17][25] Recognizing his skills as a builder, Jackson decided to shift away from performance and become a full-time maker.[1][15][17] He began making a variety of objects, including furnishings for other artists and magic boxes with hidden compartments for art collectors and galleries.[17][24] Jackson's social connections helped spread word about his work[15] and this led to his first commissions.[1] Early Commissions Desk for John Lennon by Dakota Jackson In 1974, Jackson's career as a designer began when Yoko Ono asked him to build a desk with hidden compartments for husband John Lennon.[26] "She wanted to make a piece of furniture that would be a mystical object; that would be like a Chinese puzzle," Jackson recalled in a 1986 interview published in the Chicago Tribune.[6] The result was a small cubed-shaped writing table with rounded corners reminiscent of Art Deco era style.[15] Touching secret pressure points opened the desk's compartments.[23] This commission helped build Jackson's reputation and allowed him to merge his experience as a magician and performer with his developing interest in furniture.[27] In 1978, a bed designed for fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg garnered Jackson even more notoriety.[8][10][28] [29] Called "The Eclipse", the bed was described in The New Yorker as "large, astounding, sumptuous, with sunbursts of cherry wood and quilted ivory satin at head and foot."[10] A lighting system positioned behind the headboard switched on automatically at sunset and spread out rays of light "like an aurora borealis,"[2][17] which grew brighter and brighter until turning off at 2 am.[23][30] Commissions like these continued to come in[8] and Jackson soon became known as a designer to the rich and famous.[30] Some of his other clients from this period included songwriter Peter Allen, Saturday Night Live creator and producer Lorne Michaels, Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, and soap opera actress Christine Jones.[8] The American Art Furniture Movement and the Industrial Style In the late 1970s, Jackson was among a small group of artists and artisans producing and exhibiting hand-made furniture in New York.[5][31] Jackson and his peers were part of the "American Art Furniture Movement," a group sometimes called the "Art et Industrie Movement,"[32] named after the leading art furniture gallery of the era,[32] Art et Industrie, founded by Rick Kaufmann in 1976.[33] In a 1984 Town & Country article titled "Art You Can Sit On," Kaufmann said he created the gallery to "serve as a locus to the public for artists and designers creating new decorative arts."[31] The works on display were "radical objects" that drew from a number of fine art traditions, including "Pop, Surrealism, Pointillism and Dada [which were] "thrown together with the severe lines of the Bauhaus and the Russian avant-garde, mixed with Mondrian's color and filtered through a video sensibility—all to create a new statement."[31] The article described Jackson as a "ten-year veteran of the genre" and pointed to the "clean forms and quiet colors" of his furniture.[4] Jackson showed a variety of industrial-looking lacquer, metal, and glass works at Art et Industrie, including his Standing Bar (also known as the Modern Bar),[33] a lacquered cabinet that Jackson designed in 1978 for his wife (then-girlfriend) RoseLee Goldberg.[13] Other works from this period include the T-Bird Desk, Self-Winding Cocktail Table, and the Saturn Stool...
Category

Late 20th Century Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Stainless Steel

Antique and Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Choosing the perfect writing desk or writing table is a profoundly personal journey, one that people have been embarking upon for centuries.

Queen Atossa of Persia, from her writing table circa 500 B.C., is said to have been the originator of the art of handwritten letters. Hers was reportedly the first in a long and colorful history of penned correspondence that grew in popularity alongside literacy. The demand for suitable writing desks, which would serve the composer of the letters as well as ensure the comfort of the recipient naturally followed, and the design of these necessary furnishings has evolved throughout history.

Once people began to seek freedom from the outwardly ornate styles of the walnut and rosewood writing desks and drafting tables introduced in the name of Queen Victoria and King Louis XV, radical shifts occurred, such as those that materialized during the Art Nouveau period, when designers longed to produce furniture inspired by the natural world’s beauty. A prime example is the work of the famous late-19th-century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí — his rolltop desk featured deep side drawers and was adorned with carved motifs that paid tribute to nature. Gaudí regularly combined structural precision with decorative elements, creating beautiful pieces of furniture in wood and metal.

Soon afterward, preferences for sleek, geometric, stylized forms in furniture that saw an emphasis on natural wood grains and traditional craftsmanship took hold. Today, Art Deco desks are still favored by designers who seek to infuse interiors with an air of luxury. One of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco movement was French decorator and furniture designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. With his use of neoclassical motifs as well as expensive and exotic materials such as imported dark woods and inlays of precious metals for his writing desks, Ruhlmann came to symbolize good taste and modernity.

The rise in appreciation for Scandinavian modernism continues to influence the design of contemporary writing desks. It employs the “no fuss” or “less is more” approach to creating a tasteful, sophisticated space. Sweden’s master cabinetmaker Bruno Mathsson created gallery-worthy designs that are as functional as they are beautiful. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto never viewed himself as an artist, but, like Mathsson, his furniture designs reflected a fondness for organic materials and a humanistic approach. Danish designers such as Hans Wegner introduced elegant shapes and lines to mid-century desks and writing tables, often working in oak and solid teak.

From vintage desks to contemporary styles, 1stDibs offers a broad spectrum of choices for conducting all personal and business writing and reading activities.

Recently Viewed

View All