$12,750 / set
6-Piece English Arts & Crafts Silver Desk Set
Located in Queens, NY
English Arts & Crafts 6 piece sterling silver desk Set with Egyptian scarabs and wing design. Desk pad, inkwell, pen tray, stamp box, roll blotter, letter holder.
Sterling Silver
Antique Meiji Japanese Cloisonne Enamel Wisteria Inaba 4 Piece Desk Set
Located in Long Island City, NY
An antique Japanese brass four-piece desk set with polychrome cloisonne enamel decor.
Enamel
Antique Silver Hukin & Heath Sealing Wax Desk Set, London, 1920s, Art Deco
Located in Greven, DE
Art Deco Sealing Wax Desk Set, London, circa 1920. Stamped at the bottom "H&H" for its firm Hukin &Heath, and a silver mark "9025".
Silver
Antique French Green Marble & Gold Bronze 4 Piece Inkwell Desk Set Circa 1875-85
Located in New Orleans, LA
Exceptional Antique French green marble and gold bronze 4 piece inkwell desk set, circa 1875-1885. Includes: Inkwell: 11W x 8L x 4.75H Paperweight (Left): 3W x 5.25L x 3.5H Rolli...
Marble, Bronze
Art Crafts Shop Hammered Copper Six-Piece Desk Set, Circa 1905
By Roycroft
Located in South Bend, IN
An outstanding Art & Crafts period hammered copper desk set. The six-piece set includes: letter rack, rocker blotter, inkwell, pen tray, letter opener, and set of four blotter corner...
Copper
WMF Art Nouveau Silver Plate 3 Piece Desk Set Stamp Holder Blotter Pen Tray
By WMF Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik
Located in Miami Beach, FL
A three-piece Art Nouveau desk set includes a "rocking" blotter, 5" x 2.5"; a pen tray, 9.75" x 2.25", and a hinged stamp holder with four sections 4.5" x 2.5" x 1".
Silver Plate
Antique George III Quality Sheffield Plated Desk Set by Daniel Holy of Sheffield
Located in Suffolk, GB
Antique George III quality Sheffield plated desk set on a Sheffield plated tray with an ornate edge standing on ball feet boasting the original pair of cut glass and silver plated in...
Sheffield Plate
Tiffany Studios Pine Needle Bronze and Slag Seven-Piece Desk Set
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Northport, MI
An exceptional seven-piece desk set by Tiffany Studios New York, crafted circa early 20th century in the iconic Pine Needle Pattern.
Bronze
Antique Art Deco Black Marble Five Piece Desk Set with Chrome & Brass Accents
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This antique desk set is unsigned, but presumed to have originated from the United States and date to approximately 1920 and done in the period Art Deco style.
Marble, Chrome
Three-piece Desk Set in gilded silver. Swedish Grace from CG Hallbergs from 1929
Located in Knivsta, SE
A beautiful Three-piece Desk Set in gilded silver. Very period Swedish Grace from CG Hallbergs in Stockholm, Sweden dated 1929 by Swedish hallmarks.
Carrara Marble, Silver
Tiffany Studios New York Zodiac Bronze Six-Piece Desk Set, Circa 1910
By Tiffany Studios
Located in South Bend, IN
An outstanding Art & Crafts or Art Deco period "Zodiac" patinated bronze desk set. The six-piece set includes: picture frame, stamp box, inkwell, pen tray, match stand, and set of fo...
Bronze
20th Century French Cognac Colored Leather Five Pieces Desk Set by Saint Gill
Located in Sofia, BG
French leather desk set of five pieces all wrapped in genuine leather in special cognac colour.
Leather
Fine 19th Century Ormolu Mounted KPM Porcelain Desk Set - Inkwell Candlesticks
By Berlin Royal Porcelain Factory
Located in Forney, TX
A very fine quality, exquisitely hand-crafted, late nineteenth century bronze doré mounted Royal Porcelain Factory Berlin (KPM) porcelain five piece desk set. The breathtaking anti...
Bronze
$3,163 / set
Victorian Coromandel Desk Set Letter Box
Located in Altrincham, GB
Victorian Coromandel Letter Box and Blotter Pad Book - with Studded Brass Banding of Anthemion Form with Central Jasper Ware Wedgwood Plaques - Blotter 8.5"w x 12"h - Box 9"w x 5"d x...
Zebra Wood
Tiffany Studios New York Zodiac Bronze Nine-Piece Desk Set, Circa 1910
By Tiffany Studios
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous Arts & Crafts or Art Nouveau period "Zodiac" bronze desk set. The nine-piece set includes: large inkwell, pen brush, two letter racks, pair of bookends, stamp box, notepad...
Bronze
French 19th century Empire st. Ormolu marble desk set, signed T. Gruber
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Ormolu and Brocatelle marble inkwell/desk set, signed T. Gruber. This impressive and complete set consist of a central inkwell and letter opener, flanked by a letter rack and stamp s...
Brocatelle Marble, Ormolu
Tiffany Studios New York Pine Needle Bronze Doré and Favrile Slag Glass Desk Set
By Tiffany Studios
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous antique Arts & Crafts or Art Nouveau period "Pine Needle" gilt bronze and Favrile slag glass desk set. The five-piece set includes: inkwell, letter rack, stamp box, rocker...
Bronze
$410Sale Price|48% Off
19th Century English Brass Inkwell & Writing Desk Set, c.1880
Located in Worcester, GB
19th Century English Brass Inkwell & Writing Desk Set, c.1880 A charming Victorian-era brass inkwell and writing desk set from c.1880, offering both functionality and decorative app...
Brass
Very Nice Late 19th Century Bronze and Marble 3 Piece Desk Set
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Very Nice Late 19th Century Bronze and Marble 3 Piece Desk Set The large Chinese designed rectangular desk set centered with a bronze crane and two decorated ink holders on eithe...
Marble, Bronze
19th Century Japanned English Victorian Papier Mâché Mother of Pearl Desk Set
Located in Forney, TX
An English Victorian Japanned papier mache desk set with mother of pearl inlay and elaborate rich polychrome painted flower decoration.
Crystal, Bronze, Other
$825Sale Price / set|44% Off
Gilded Age Silver Plated and Crystal Writing Desk Set
Located in Sheffield, MA
The antique silver-on-copper and crystal pen and ink desk set is composed a footed tray with two indentations for feathered pens or writing instruments, two lidded ink bottles with b...
Crystal, Silver Plate
Victorian gilt inkstand desk set in the Gothic style
Located in London, GB
Victorian gilt inkstand desk set in the Gothic style English, 19th Century Height 19cm, width 27cm, depth 12.5cm This wonderful inkstand is a fine piece of Victorian period design.
Brass
Antique Early 20th Century Desk Set by Thornhill & Co London Circa 1910
By Thornhill
Located in London, GB
Travel back in time with this impressive antique desk set by Thornhill & Co, London, dating back to circa 1910.
Crocodile, Alligator
Art Deco Silvered Desk Set, Vienna, Around 1920s
Located in Wien, Au
Shovel and broom The shovel is: H: 1cm W: 20cm D: 21cm The Broom is: H: 4cm W: 5cm D: 28 Original condition.
Brass
Burr Walnut and Ormolu Desk Set Signed Appay a Paris
Located in London, GB
Burr walnut and ormolu desk set signed Appay a Paris. A very smart Parisian turn of the 19th century desk set comprising a pair of inkwells with a pin drawer and an 8 day clock above...
Ormolu
Antique English Presentation Inkwell & Desk Set with Horse Jockey Theme
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This antique desk set has no maker's signature, but is presumed to have originated from England and date to approximately 1890 and done in the period Victorian style.
Onyx, Brass
Antique English Brass Agate Cabochon Mounted Two Piece Desk Set Mid 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a fine antique Victorian brass and agate cabochon inlaid two piece desk set, circa 1860 in date. The set comprises a dome topped rectangular stationary casket and a matching...
Agate, Brass
Antique Old Vienna Paris Porcelain Inkwell and Ink Blotter Desk Set - 2 Pc Set
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique Old Vienna Paris Porcelain Inkwell and Ink Blotter Desk Set - 2 Pc Set. item features Painted scenes, beautiful color, crown mark to inkwell, ver nice antique set.
Porcelain
19th Century Gilt Bronze and Malachite Three Piece Desk Set - Leuchars of London
By Leuchars & Son
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Rare Early 19th Century Gilt Bronze and Malachite Three Piece Desk Set By Leuchars of London James Leuchars The highly decorative mounted malachite set consisting of a letter box...
Malachite, Bronze, Ormolu
Antique French Bronze D'ore & Cut Crystal Inkwell Desk Set on Stand, Circa 1900
Located in New Orleans, LA
Antique French bronze D'Ore and cut crystal inkwell desk set on stand, Circa 1900. Includes inkwell, pen holder, pen nib brush and drip box.
Crystal, Bronze
Art Deco, Inkwell Desk Set, Pen Holder, Marble, Bronze Panthers, 1920s
Located in Stamford, CT
Art Deco, Inkwell Desk Set, Pen Holder, Marble, Bronze, 1920s Perched upon a portoro black and brown with gold veined marble base having a pen and pencil cut out sit a male and fema...
Onyx, Marble, Bronze
Art Deco Black Glass and Brass Inkwell With Letter Rack Desk Set
Located in Land O' Lakes, FL
This sophisticated Art Deco black and gold desk set is a stunning example of 1920s elegance.
Brass
Antique English Coromandel & Ormolu Mounted Four Piece Desk Set Mid 19th Century
By George Betjemann & Sons
Located in London, GB
This is a wonderful and highly decorative antique Victorian ormolu mounted coromandel four piece desk set by the renowned London maker of luxury items, Betjemann & Sons, cira 1860 in...
Ormolu
Antique Regency Rosewood Inlaid Writing Desk Set with Inkwells
Located in Suffolk, GB
A fine and early Regency period rosewood writing desk set beautifully decorated with delicate mother-of-pearl foliate inlay and complete with its original cut-glass inkwells.
Rosewood
19th Century French Black Forest Carved Walnut Smoker’s Desk Set
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a desk, study or library with this elegant antique Black Forest smoker’s companion set.
Walnut
Stunning quality antique Victorian brass desk set
Located in Ipswich, GB
Stunning quality antique Victorian brass desk set having a quality antique Victorian brass desk set with a tray to the front and back, a shaped carrying handle to the centre, the ori...
Brass
Imperial Anichkov Palace Russian Bronze Garniture Desk Set. Alexei Alexandrovich
Located in Victoria, BC
The letter explains how he had purchased this set 50 years prior and was now gifting it to his friend living in New York, USA.
Marble, Bronze
Antique 1920s French Art Deco Natural Blond Horn 4-Piece Writing Desk Set
Located in Honolulu, HI
This exceptional 4-piece desk set, dating to the 1920s–1930s, is a quintessential relic of French intellectual luxury.
Antique French Porcelain Jacob Petite Desk Set Inkstand Provenance Ava Gardner
By Jacob Petit
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Stunning French Lavish Gilt Porcelain Ink Stand of Museum Quality and generous proportions, made by renowned French porcelain maker Jacob Petit. Last quarter of the Nineteenth Centur...
Brass
Antique German Bronze Desk Set Inkstand Rosso Antico Marble Ormolu Burgstaller
By George Josef Burgstaller
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Stunning Chisel Cast Austrian or German Neo-Classical Ormolu and Rosso Antico Marble Ink Stand of Museum Quality and generous proportions, by George Josef Burgstaller, Late Nineteent...
Siena Marble, Brass, Bronze
$503Sale Price / set|28% Off
Giant Art Deco Desk Set Extinguishing Cradle made of Serpentine, Germany 1920s
Located in Hannover, DE
This mighty desk set stood on the desk of a company director in the 1920s in an imposing office.
Serpentine
An Arts & Crafts four piece hand-hammered dressing table or desk set
By Birmingham Guild of Handicraft Ltd. 1
Located in London, GB
An Arts & Crafts four piece beautifully hand-hammered dressing table or desk set consisting of a copper jewelry box with a domed lid and incised floral circular motifs to each corner...
Antique Chinese Japanese Bronze Inkwell Male Bust Pair French Ormolu Desk Set
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Very stylish patinated bronze desk inkwell modelled as a bust of a Chinese or Japanese figure wearing a straw hat, together with a pair French ormolu Inkwells. Both items are late 19...
Ormolu, Bronze
Antique Chinese Japanese Bronze Inkwell Male Bust Pair French Ormolu Desk Set
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Very stylish patinated bronze desk inkwell modelled as a bust of a Chinese or Japanese figure wearing a straw hat, together with a pair French ormolu Inkwells. Both items are late 19...
Ormolu, Bronze
$1,273Sale Price / set|35% Off
Victorian Ebonised Desk Set With Two Cut Glass Inkwells Decorated With Brass
Located in Reading, Berkshire
A Lovely Victorian Ebonised Desktop Tidy With Two Cut Glass Inkwells, With Attractive Brass Rails & Decorative Idents & Drawer Supplied With A Modern Day Quill Pen, Notepad ...
Chrome, Brass
Antique French Regency Grand Tour Bronze Crystal Desk Set Inkstand Encrier 19Ct
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Stunning Heavy Gauge Chisel Cast French Grand Tour German Neo-Classical Bronze and Crystal Ink Stand of Museum Quality and generous proportions. First quarter of the Nineteenth Centu...
Brass, Bronze
Napoleon lll, French Inkwell Desk Set, Boulle Inlay, Tortoise, France, 19th c.
Located in Stamford, CT
This exceptional desk accessory set features intricate brass inlay in the traditional Boulle technique, set against a rich contrasting ground.
Tortoise Shell
Antique Candle Sticks and Inkwell Émeaux de Bresse Desk Set Enamel Brass France
Located in Munich, DE
This beautifully enamelled set comprising an inkwell and two candlesticks will cheer up any room. A fine example of the wonderful enamel work executed in Bresse around 1870. The mast...
Brass
Paul Beau Mixed Metal Desk Set, Blotter Corners, Stationary Rack and Pen Tray
By Paul Beau
Located in Montreal, QC
Paul Beau, doyen of Montreal Arts & Craft metal workers flourished in the first half of the 20th century. He was responsible for much fine work, in both private and public mileaux. H...
Austrian Cold-Painted Bronze Desk Set of American Interest
Located in London, GB
Austrian cold-painted bronze desk set of American interest. Austrian, c. 1910 Letter holder: height 14.5cm, width 16.5cm, depth 9cm.
Bronze
English Regency Desk Set in Form of British Sailors Defending a Fort with Mortar
Located in London, GB
An extremely rare and very unusual bronze desk set in the form of British sailors ( or Jack Tars) defending or more likely attacking a fort with mortars.
Bronze
Antique Antler Smoking Desk Set, circa 1900
Located in Berghuelen, DE
The antique antler smoking desk set is made of original antlers from the deer and the stag.
Antler
Tiffany & Co. Studios New York Bronze and Abalone Desk Set
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in Bensalem, PA
Stunning set of solid brass Tiffany & Co desk ink well notepad case and 4 corners for desk pad all in amazing condition came from a high end estate in Princeton New Jersey
Bronze
Antique Wicker Vanity Desk Set with Chair, Circa 1890, Pink Upholstery
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A very sweet set!.
Wicker
Empire Gilt-Bronze & Variegated Green Marble Desk Set, c.1820
Located in Atlanta, GA
The base is composed of variegated green marble with a pen tray, ormolu trim and patarae motif. The ormolu well with lid is beautifully decorated with laurel wreath garland surround...
Marble
19th Century French Patinated and Gilt Spelter Rooster Inkwell Desk Set
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate your desk or study with this elegant antique French figural inkwell, crafted circa 1870.
Spelter
Victorian Marble Inkwell Sienna Yellow Inkstand Desk Set Antique Louis XVI
Located in Wommelgem, VAN
An Antique Sienna marble inkwell / inkstand Very well shaped and decorative Made Of yellow and black / grey veined marble on gilt bronze toupie feet Style George III / Louis XVI Cond...
Siena Marble, Bronze
Whether you’ve carved out a space for a nifty home office or you prefer the morning commute, why not dress up your desk with antique and vintage desk accessories? To best tiptoe the line between desk efficiency and desk enjoyment, we suggest adding a touch of the past to your modern-day space.
Desks are a funny thing. Their basic premise has remained the same for quite literally centuries: a flat surface, oftentimes a drawer, and potentially a shelf or two. However, the contents that lay upon the desk? Well, the evolution has been drastic to say the least.
Thank the Victorians for the initial popularity of the paperweight. The Industrial Revolution offered the novel concept of leisure-time to Europeans, giving them more time to take part in the then crucial activity of letter writing. Decorative glass paperweight designs were all the rage, and during the mid-19th-century some of the most popular makers included the French companies of Baccarat, St. Louis and Clichy.
As paper was exceedingly expensive in the early to mid-19th-century, every effort was made to utilize a full sheet of it. Paper knives, which gave way to the modern letter opener, were helpful for cutting paper down to an appropriate size.
Books — those bound volumes of paper, you may recall — used to be common occurrences on desks of yore and where there were books there needed to be bookends. As a luxury item, bookend designs have run the gamut from incorporating ultra-luxurious materials (think marble and Murano glass) to being whimsical desk accompaniments (animal figurines were highly popular choices).
Though the inkwell’s extinction was ushered in by the advent of the ballpoint pen (itself quasi-obsolete at this point), there is still significant charm to be had from placing one of these bauble-like objets in a central spot on one’s desk. You may be surprised to discover the mood-boosting powers an antique — and purposefully empty — inkwell can provide.
The clamor for desk clocks arose as the Industrial Revolution transitioned labor from outdoors to indoors, and allowed for the mass-production of clock parts in factories. Naturally, elaborate designs soon followed and clocks could be found made by artisans and luxury houses like Cartier.
Find antique and vintage desk accessories today on 1stDibs.
The French sculptor shaped dense blocks into tactile forms meant to be used and held.
After synthetic dyes changed fashion, home goods and printed matter, it was only a matter of time till glass caught up.
The brilliantly simple design turns a modest bouquet into a major statement.
The Greek tragedian is said to have been handsome in his day.
Even for those who don’t indulge, elegant smoking accessories and audacious art portraying cigar enthusiasts hold a nostalgic allure.
It’s an excellent example of the sought-after ceramics coming out of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.
Thanks to its new leadership, the Spanish maker of figurines, busts and lighting is on a mission to update the art of porcelain for the 21st century.
The free-form stoneware piece is inspired by the magnolia tree and its associations with home.