French Inlaid Bureau Mazaran Desk / Dressing Table
Located in San Francisco, CA
A very elegant early 18th century Inlaid French Bureau Mazaran. Named for the Cardinal Mazaran who had the first one made in the 17th century. This example comes from a good collec...
Early Spanish San Felipe Drop Front Desk - Circa 1750
Located in San Francisco, CA
A fine and rare early 18th century Spanish 'San Felipe' writing desk. Golden walnut. Unusual baroque style with serpentine legs, iron cross bar, fold down drop front and fold back lid.
Walnut
Sold|$8,900
A Bold Spanish Baroque Walnut Table
Located in San Francisco, CA
The rectangular plank top; over inset conforming apron containing three drawers; raised on canted rectangular sectioned legs; joined by similar stretcher; good color and patina.
Wood
English Jacobean Style Barley Twist Oak Desk, Circa 1880
Located in Louisville, KY
featuring a rectangular top over a two drawer frieze and raised on sugar twist legs connected with turned stretchers.
Oak, Canvas
ITALIAN BAROQUE CARVED GREEN-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT TABLE
Located in San Francisco, CA
A MAGICAL ITALIAN BAROQUE CARVED GREEN-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT RECTANGULAR SIDE TABLE WITH PIED DE BICHE FEET. The removable, inset rectangular top with scalloped edge and exaggerat...
Sold|$1,590
French fruitwood work table, 19th c.
Located in Norwalk, CT
French fruitwood work table, 19th c., in the country baroque style, with turned legs and and H-stretcher and the the bleached top showing marks and wear from being a work table. Perf...
Sold|$2,975
18th Century French Oak Table
Located in San Francisco, CA
18th Century French Oak Table ( side table, writing desk ) 36''w x 23''d x 29''h
Early to Mid-17th Century Carved Two-Drawer Library Table, Walnut
Located in Santa Fe, NM
This large two-drawer walnut library table, found in the medieval town of Viana in the province of Navarra, Spain, is impressive for the sheer size of its single board walnut top, ...
Walnut
Charles II Tavern Table in Chestnut or Elm, England, circa 1680
Located in San Francisco, CA
Charles II period English tavern table, circa 1680. In chestnut or elm with good color and patina. Useful drawer with old brass handles. Well turned legs with appropriately worn stre...
Brass
Carved 17th Century Two-Drawer Spanish Library Table
Located in Santa Fe, NM
An important two-drawer Baroque library table from the provincial capital of Valladolid in Old Castile, Spain. Constructed of solid light Spanish walnut with oak as the secondary wo...
Oak, Walnut
Sold|$6,950
18th Century Library Table, Spain circa 1720
Located in San Francisco, CA
An early 18th century Spanish oak or elm library table, circa 1720.
Elm, Oak
17th Century Spanish Trestle Leg Table, Walnut and Oak
Located in Santa Fe, NM
With superb "prima patina", this beautiful trestle leg table is from the province of Burgos in Old Castile, Spain. Featuring a single-board walnut top with tremendous character an...
Wrought Iron
Sold|$1,950
A 18th Century Travel Writing Desk
Located in den Haag, NL
A 18th century travel writing desk with a drawer and a flap top in its original paint.
Wood
Sold|$5,200
Period Writing Desk
Located in Sheffield, MA
Period writing desk in black paint, Sweden 1770 with beautifully fitted interior with an array of compartments and small drawers, including two disguised as half columns. There is on...
Brass
Sold|$5,200
Small Period Writing Desk
Located in Sheffield, MA
Early Swedish slant front writing desk, circa 1760, in a small size. Four full width drawers below the writing surface, and six small drawers inside, all on a shaped bracket base. Or...
Brass
Sold|$4,400
Slant Front Swedish Writing Desk
Located in Sheffield, MA
Slant front writing desk in black paint, Sweden, circa 1830. Fitted interior with drawers and compartments, and a book support on the exterior. Two over three drawers on a bracket base.
Brass
Sold|$5,800
Early Writing Desk in Black Paint
Located in Great Barrington, MA
Very early Scandinavian writing desk, circa 1790, with three full-width drawers under a slant front with recessed panel, all on a shaped bracket base. The fitted interior has scrollw...
Wood
Sold|$5,800
Early Swedish Slant Front Writing Desk
Located in Great Barrington, MA
Period slant front writing desk, Sweden, circa 1760, in black paint. The interior is fitted with drawers, some of them disguised and a central locking compartment. The slant front ha...
Brass
Swedish 18th Century Writing Desk with Original Hardware
Located in Great Barrington, MA
Swedish slant-front writing desk, circa 1780, with fitted interior and retaining its original brass hardware. Behind the drop front are several banks of stepped drawers, two disguise...
Brass
Swedish Baroque Painted Desk Late 18th Century
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Swedish baroque painted desk with curved apron and cabriole legs, one drawer, painted in a distressed Gustavian original greenish color. Measures: H: 28.75'' W: 41.63'' D: 27.25''.
Metal
19th Century Italian Hand-Carved Writing Table
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Offered is a beautifully hand-carved, 19th century Italian small table or writing desk in walnut wood. It features acanthus leaves motif with proud lions feet, Please notice that thi...
Sold|$1,200
1920's Italian Baroque Carved Wood Table
Located in San Francisco, CA
1920'S ITALIAN BAROQUE CARVED WOOD TABLE (needs to be refinished or painted) GREAT WRITING TABLE, SIDE TABLE, END TABLE
Italian Style, Writing Table, Antique Small Writing Table, English Writing Table
Located in South Cotswolds, GB
A very pretty small writing table with an old greenish leather Style: Italian Baroque The measurement: for the seat height underneath the desk is 58 cm.
Walnut
Italian Style, Writing Table, Antique Small Writing Table, English Writing Table
Located in South Cotswolds, GB
A very pretty small writing table with a lovely color, mahogany top Style: Italian, Tuscany style The measurement: for the seat height underneath the desk is 64 cm. A very go...
Walnut
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.
A writing desk may refer to a desk with a top, often sloping, for writing on or to a portable case with compartments to hold writing materials and a surface for writing.