19th Century Victorian Amboyna Inlaid Bonheur Du Jour

We are very pleased to be able to offer this rare antique French walnut and marquetry inlaid Bonheur du Jour, or Ladies Writing Desk, for sale. Our experts have dated it to around 1...

This is a superb antique Late Victorian Flame mahogany string inlaid and satinwood crossbanded pedestal kneehole desk, circa 1880 in date. It is made from fabulous flame mahogany...

This is a wonderful antique late Victorian mahogany partners pedestal desk, circa 1880 in date. The rectanglular top features a stunning inset green and gold tooled leather writing surface. This stunning desk is the same on each side. Each side is fitted with three frieze drawers, three further drawers in one pedestal and a cupboard to the other pedestal, all fitted with the original brass drop handles. The drawers are all oak lined and the pedestals are raised on plinth bases with brass castors underneath. Complete with original brass locks and keys. Instill the elegance of a bygone era to a special place in your home with this fabulous antique partners pedestal desk. THE BOTANICAL NAME FOR THE MAHOGANY THIS ITEM IS MADE OF IS SWIETENIA MACROPHYLLA AND THIS TYPE OF MAHOGANY IS NOT SUBJECT TO CITES REGULATION. Condition: In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished, waxed and releathered in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 76 x Width 151 x Depth 106 Dimensions in inches: Height 29.9 x Width 59.4 x Depth 41.7 Mahogany is probably one of the largest ‘families’ of hardwood, having many different varieties within its own species. Mahogany has been used for centuries in ship building...

This is a truly superb antique Victorian Period burr walnut Dickens pedestal desk, circa 1880 in date. The sunken central superstructure is flanked on either side by columns of five...

Antique Victorian walnut writing table, circa 1850 in date. One of the drawers is stamped by the maker: C.Hindley & Sons, late Miles & Edwards, 134 Oxford Street, London. It bears the inventory number 12451 The rectangular top features a moulded edge with a striking inset red leather writing surface over two cedar lined drawers to the frieze, fitted with Bramah locks. It is raised on four decorative barley twist legs terminating in brass castors. It is finished on all sides so that it can stand freely in the middle of a room. Complete with working Bramah locks and special key. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 76 x Width 123 x Depth 69 Dimensions in inches: Height 2 foot, 6 inches x Width 4 foot x Depth 2 foot, 3 inches Hindley, Charles & Sons Berners Street & Oxford Street, London; cabinet makers, upholsterers and retailers (fl.c.1820-1892) Charles Hugh Hindley (b.1792- d.1871) was the son of Christopher, a merchant in Mere, Wiltshire. He moved to London with an elder brother to live with his uncle, who was possibly running the London branch of the Wiltshire business. In 1817 Charles joined the upholstery firm of Benjamin Merriman Nias at 32 Berners Street. Within a few years he bought the Nias business with a £1,000 investment from his family. Despite his business being described as a 'carpet warehouse' in London directories from 1820-1841, by the mid-1830s upholstery and cabinet work had joined his repertoire and he had taken on more showroom space next door at 31 Berners Street. Family records of the 1840s showed that individual custom-order business expanded to also ‘supplying established furnishing houses with goods on wholesale terms’. Jobs ranged from supplying Pentonville Prison with 100 hair mattresses and pillows, to altering spring roller blinds, to fulfilling private commissions with suites of parlour furniture. Hindley was the father of eleven children with three involved in the business: Charles Hugh (b. 1818), Frederick (b. 1820), and Albert Daniel (b.1822). Charles Hugh and Frederick joined the family firm about 1832, thus establishing the family partnership, Charles Hindley & Sons. Albert Daniel learned the carpet manufactory and trade in Kidderminster and eventually established a carpet manufactory in Liversedge, Yorkshire, supplying the family’s London store and others. In 1845 he patented an early tufted carpeting technique. Charles Hindley & Sons acquired the firm, Miles & Edwards in September 1844, including their premises at 134 Oxford Street. Both companies operated from this address until 1845 when Miles & Edwards was closed. The purchase of Miles & Edwards enabled Hindley & Co. to compete with other West End firms by offering everything from cabinet making and upholstery to painted decoration and interior design for the middle and upper class market. In a sample of 737 orders from October 1842-June 1845, six per cent of the clientele were upper and lower aristocracy with approximately seventy per cent gentry or middle class. The aristocratic clientele included the surnames of Hoare, Kirland, Drummond, Montefiore, Ashburton and Rothschild, and the Oriental Club at 18 Hanover Square (1824). Bramah is London's oldest security company. Established at 124 Piccadilly, London in 1784, and today based in Marylebone, London and Romford, Essex. Bramah made their first lock in 1784 and the patent was awarded in 1787. The designer was Joseph Bramah. Joseph Bramah was a leading inventor of the industrial revolution, patenting over 18 new ideas, including a new valve for the water closet (toilet), the hydraulic pump, a fountain pen, and a fire engine. Bramah also introduced a beer hand pump for use at the bar, to prevent fluid loss when barmen went downstairs to pour a new jug! Due to the quality of his manufacturing, his name became a by-word amongst British Engineers for engineering excellence and many of his inventions are on display in the Science Museum in London. You can find one of his original toilets still working in Osborne House, Queen Victoria's home on the Isle of Wight. The Bramah lock was unique and advanced property and valuables protection enormously. Indeed it was 50 years ahead of any Chubb lock...

This is a fine and very rare antique Victorian burr walnut twin pedestal partners desk, Circa 1860 in date. It is made from fabulous burr walnut, the rectangular top with a fabulous inset gold tooled green leather writing surface. One side has an arrangement of three drawers in the frieze over a pair of pedestals each with three graduated drawers, the other side has a central frieze drawer with a cupboard in each pedestal, each opens to a central shelf. The desk is fitted with the original turned walnut handles and it stands on a plinth base raised on brass castors. The desk has its original locks and keys and the locks are stamped H&C, By Royal Letters Patent. Instil the elegance of a bygone era to a special place in your home with this fabulous decorative antique desk...

19th-century walnut writing table of serpentine form, the raised superstructure top with fitted shelves and brass gallery, flanked by two banks of drawers. To the well figured serpen...

For sale is a fine quality 19th century ebony and Thuya wood Bonheur Du Jour. The bonheur du jour has a brass gallery around the top, above a central mirror...

For sale is a fine quality 19th century ebonised Boulle Bonheur Du Jour writing table. The top, of arched form, has an ornate brass pediment, flanked by...

For sale is a fine quality English 19th century Victorian Amboyna Pedestal Desk. The desk top, having a superstructure with two cupboards with brass gallery tops, each panelled with ...

A pretty French Louis XV style writing desk or ‘bonheur du jour’, the serpentine case veneered in book-matched Kingwood and raised on elegant cabriole legs and accented with gilt tri...

An unusual late 18th century satinwood 'Bonheur du Jour,' boxwood and ebony line inlaid throughout, having fiddle-back mahogany bow paneled doors with central drawer and recess, abov...