Art Deco Writing Table from SS Ascania

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Art Deco Writing Table from SS Ascania

About the Item

The art deco design of this mahogany veneered ship’s desk epitomises the period of ocean liners at their peak. It has a label to the underside of the front that notes SS Ascania, 1st Class Lounge and gives the maker’s details of Wm Masons & Son Ltd. Leeds. Little is known of William Masons & Son Ltd although Frederick Mason, who was apprenticed to his father and brother in 1888, spent over a year making the precise woodwork needed by their neighbour Louis Le Prince for his pioneering work in cinematography. Many credit Le Prince with making the first motion picture. Mason’s premises at this time were at 150 Woodhouse Lane. They must have been a company of a reasonable size to have been commissioned by Cunard, the owners of the Ascania. Research shows that Ragshawe of Worcester also made furniture for Cunard and their records illustrate an almost identical table made by the company in 1939 for use on board the Queen Elizabeth which was launched the previous year. Th e SS Ascania was the second ship to bear the name and was launched on 20th December 1923 but not fitted until 1925. She was then refitted quite soon after in 1927 when it was decided that the passenger classes should be increased to three and it is possible that this desk was made at that point. She operated on the Atlantic crossing to Canada but at the outbreak of World War II was commissioned as an armed merchant cruiser. She was later converted to an infantry landing ship and took part in the invasion of Italy. After the war she went back to service on the Canadian route. She was eventually withdrawn from service in 1956 but reprieved to take troops to Malta for the Suez Crisis. She was finally broken in 1957. This desk is very elegant with an understated sweep to the bottom of the front leg and brass caps to the feet. The legs are also subtly carved. The rails of the stretchers to the sides and back are made of a hard black rubber with a reeded moulding to the top. You would be forgiven for thinking that it was ebony and it was presumably so you could rest your feet. The black offsets the richness of the mahogany, as does the replaced leather skiver. On close inspection the curved back board can be seen to have originally had two small holes, now veneered and lost. These would have been to take a metal perpetual calendar, now gone. Aside from the evidence of the label noting the ship, the desk has two hooks to the back to fix it in position during rough weather. However, given that the back is finished, the desk was probably used in the middle of the lounge. Circa 1925. Signed/Inscribed/Dated: Plaque for Wm Masons & Son Ltd. Leeds.

Dimensions:
Height: 35.5 in (90.17 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)Depth: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Mahogany
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
c. 1925
Condition:
Very Good. The leather is replaced. Originally would have had a perpetual calendar.
Seller Location:
Gloucestershire, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 810491stDibs: LU9587982958