Venetian Hand-Painted Blind Door Secretary with Bookcase, Circa 1900
Located in Charleston, SC
Venetian blind door secretary with a carved scrolled decorative cornice, upper case bookcase with hand-painted parrots and foliage, slant top reveling a fitted interior desk, three l...
Brass
English Chippendale Mahogany Blind Door Secretary With Bookcase, Circa 1775
Located in Charleston, SC
English Chippendale mahogany blind door secretary with bookcase. Upper case has a carved cornice fret work with flanking blind doors concealing interior adjustable shelving.
Brass
Kittinger Williamsburg Adaptation Mahogany Two Piece Secretary Desk / Bookcase
By Kittinger Furniture Company
Located in Milford, NH
A fine example of a two piece mahogany blind door secretary desk / bookcase in the Chippendale style by Kittinger from their Williamsburg Adaptation collection, its upper case with a...
Brass
$1,320Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Empire Classical Flame Mahogany Secretary Desk c1840
Located in Big Flats, NY
Antique Empire Classical Flame Mahogany Secretary with Blind Door Upper, Drop Down Desk and Graduated Drawers C1840 Measures - 69 3/4" x 40 1/2" x 23 3/8"
Mahogany
A wonderful vibrantly inlaid secretary desk
Located in Sharon, MA
Blind door secretary desks such as this were extremely popular during the Federal period and are still just as useful 200 years later.
Mahogany, Birdseye Maple
American Blind Door Secretary Walnut, circa 1780
Located in Charleston, SC
American walnut secretary with fitted secretary and fitted top behind blind doors New Jersey c.1780
Sold
H 94 in W 42.75 in D 23.5 in
English Mahogany Inlaid Blind Door Secretary With Bookcase. 18th Century
Located in Charleston, SC
English mahogany secretary with bookcase. Upper case has a intricately carved broken pediment with floral medallions and centered urn, patera satinwood inlaid blind doors, with upper...
Mahogany, Satinwood
English Walnut Blind Door Secretary with Fitted Upper Case, circa 1780
Located in Charleston, SC
English walnut mirrored door secretary with fitted upper case. Nice with figured walnut, circa 1780.
Sold
H 94 in W 38 in D 20.5 in
Wright Table Co. New England Style Cherry Blind Door Secretary Desk and Bookcase
Located in Dayton, OH
A Monumental New England style secretary desk from Wright Table Company. Made from solid cherrywood and veneers. Features a broken pediment with three flame turned trophy finials. Th...
Cherry
English Mahogany Secretary with Blind Door Bookcase. Circa 1770
Located in Charleston, SC
English Mahogany secretary with bookcase. Secretary has intricately carved upper case flanking blind doors with a fitted interior and adjustable shelving.
Mahogany
Empire Bookcase Secretary
Located in East Aurora, NY
A superb two piece 19th century Empire Mahogany and Cherry blind door bookcase secretary constructed of a very highly figured Mahogany and solid Cherry with White Pine as the seconda...
Mahogany
Sold
H 90.75 in W 44.5 in D 24.5 in
English Regency Burl Walnut Blind Door Secretary Bookcase with Bun Feet, C. 1815
Located in Charleston, SC
English Regency burl walnut arched dome pediment slant front secretary bookcase with three carved foliage bulbous finials, flanking hinged scalloped blind doors revealing a fitted in...
Brass
Georgian Mahogany Blind Door Bookcase Secretary
Located in East Aurora, NY
A very nice early Georgian Mahogany blind door bookcase secretary desk 1740-50. This is a great looking piece that retains an old and possibly original surface with a great mellow co...
Mahogany
Sheraton Blind Door Secretary
Located in Kilmarnock, VA
American mahogany and maple Sheraton blind door secretary with original brasses and green leather writing surface.
Brass
Late 18th Century English Chinoiserie Decorated Secretary Desk
Located in Kilmarnock, VA
English scarlet lacquer and chinoiserie decorated blind-door secretary/bookcase with three shelves and three small drawers behind the doors above an extensively outfitted carved and ...
Wood
Sold
H 78.75 in W 40.5 in D 22.5 in
Mid 20th Century Cherry Secretary Desk W/ Blind Door Bookcase, Attrib. BENBOW'S
Located in Charlotte, NC
Solid cherry with brass hardware, crown moulding to top and ogee bracket feet. Upper blind bookcase has two doors with faux keyhole escutcheons that reveal two fixed plate grooved wo...
Brass
Original Eames Fiberglass Shell Chairs by Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage 1960s molded fiberglass side shell chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Gleaming shells are in original condition, each with a distinct thready texture...
Fiberglass
$4,900 / item
H 34 in W 86 in D 42 in
Custom Made Modern English Arm Sofa in Performance Linen Velvet - 86"
By Bloom Home Inc
Located in Old Town Orange, CA
This beautiful english arm sofa has a modern twist, with its single bench cushion, and beautiful curved apron sides. It’s upholstered in a Linen Velvet Performance fabric. Shown in...
Linen, Velvet
$2,000 / item
H 8.5 in Dm 17.5 in
Vintage Inspired Handcrafted Fluted Farmhouse Porcelain Pendant Light
By DBO Home
Located in Sharon, CT
Classic, elegant, with a perfectly imperfect touch. We just love our new porcelain Parasol Fluted Pendants. Inspired by a vintage pie cover, we designed them to hang over our kitchen...
Brass
19th Century George III Style Mahogany Bureau Secretary Bookcase
Located in WEST PALM BEACH, FL
This is a sophisticated and stately Danish secretary bookcase. The partially pierced cornice and a secondary tiered; a shaped cornice over two closed panel doors flanked by mahogany ...
Mahogany
$3,750
H 41.5 in W 42.5 in D 21.5 in
Antique Georgian Flame Mahogany Slant Front Secretary Writing Desk Bureau
Located in Dayton, OH
Exquisite antique early 19th century secretary writing storage desk. Made of flame mahogany featuring Georgian styling with three large dovetailed drawers and a drop front that open...
Birdseye Maple, Mahogany
Allegory of Abundance
Located in New York, NY
Painted in collaboration with Hendrick van Balen (Antwerp, 1575 – 1632). Provenance: Private Collection, Uruguay, since the 1930s. The eldest son of Jan Breughel the Elder, Jan the...
Copper
$1,200
H 70 in W 28 in D 19 in
Vintage Early American Style Petite Maple Lift Top Secretary Desk & Hutch 70"
Located in Dayton, OH
1960s American Country Diminutive Desk & Hutch. Made from maple with a lift top writing desk topped by a large backsplash with shelves and drawer. Great for use as a bookshelf. B...
Brass
$2,695
H 82 in W 36 in D 18.5 in
Henredon Georgian Walnut Drop Front Secretary Desk With Bookcase Hutch
By Henredon
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful Georgian or Queen Anne style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top By Henredon USA, Circa 1980s Gorgeous figured walnut, with original bra...
Brass
Louis XV Style Chinoiserie Slant-Top Desk
Located in Pembroke, MA
A stunning, petite French slant-top desk or "bureau de pente" in the Louis XV style, turquoise and gold polychromed with Chinoiserie detailing, and red under-body. Desk opens to rev...
Bronze
$4,800
H 49.61 in W 31.11 in D 17.72 in
Swedish Grace, Geometric Cabinet in Oak, Thysells Möbler, Art Deco, 1940s
Located in Odense, DK
This elegant Swedish Grace vintage cabinet is a refined example of mid century furniture design, showcasing high-quality craftsmanship and timeless appeal. The piece is executed in o...
Oak, Burl
George III Mahogany Secretary Bookcase
Located in Westwood, NJ
Elegant Georgian style cabinet with classical pediment, geometric glazing bars over the twin doors with three adjustable shelves within, the lower section with a fall front, fully li...
Mahogany
$5,196Sale Price|50% Off
H 32.49 in W 32.29 in D 1.97 in
French 18th Century Forged Iron Folk Art Baroque Tavern Sign
Located in Buisson, FR
Important and beautiful 18th century Tavern sign depicting a rearing white horse with a crowned coat of arms on its back. Most likely from the Alsace, France due to the German influe...
Iron
$6,895
H 44 in W 47 in D 23 in
George III Bureau Desk or Secretary Chest of Mahogany from the 18th Century
Located in Austin, TX
A fine George III slant top desk or bureau secretary chest of patinated mahogany, c.1770 - an inlaid slant front drops to reveal a series of small drawers and document compartments, ...
Metal, Brass
$2,895
H 34.5 in W 52 in D 21.5 in
French Louis XVI Style Cerused Painted Commode / Chest with Carved Shell Motif
Located in Kennesaw, GA
Love the finish and size! This chest is actually an Italian piece with French Louis XVI styling. The cerused finish is accented with a celadon green. It is in very good condition.
Brass
$2,595
H 76.25 in W 36.5 in D 18.75 in
Georgian Solid Birch Drop Front Secretary Desk With Bookcase Hutch
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful Georgian, Chippendale, or Early American style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top USA, Circa 1970s Gorgeous carved solid birch, with original ...
Brass
$3,295
H 88.75 in W 46.63 in D 21.25 in
Baker Furniture French Provincial Louis XV Carved Walnut Secretary Desk
By Baker Furniture Company
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous French Provincial Louis XV style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top By Baker Furniture USA, Circa 1980s Carved walnut, with original brass har...
Brass
Your antique, new or vintage secretary desk has become the (chic) saving grace of the "new normal" at home.
Simply put, a secretary desk is a multifunctional piece of furniture with a hinged writing surface that folds open or drops down. When the leaf is folded out, small inner storage compartments — pigeonholes, cubbies, recesses or drawers — are revealed.
Traditionally, a secretary is composed of two parts — a chest of drawers on the bottom and a cabinet with shelves on the top. Taking its name from the French word for the piece, secrétaire, the secretary desk dates back to the 18th century, when Paris-based cabinetmaker Jean-François Oeben, known for his exquisite marquetry and clever mechanical desks, is thought to have invented the secrétaire à abbattant, or drop-leaf desk.
While the defining drop-down feature of the secretary desk has remained constant, the materials used, as well as its configuration, size and style have evolved over time.
At first, secretaries were typically made from exotic woods, like rosewood, tulipwood and kingwood; later, hardwoods like cherry, maple, oak and mahogany were more common. The desks also became lighter, with space carved out of the lower half for the writer’s feet or with drawers replaced by legs — making them more table-like.
When open, the secretary is a dynamic, versatile Wunderkammer. When closed, it’s a sophisticated, space-saving piece of furniture.
“A fine secretary with a good provenance adds stature and credence to its owner — it is a cornerstone piece,” says antiques dealer Stanley Weiss, who specializes in 18th- and 19th-century English and American furniture. “In this disposable world, fine furniture is always passed on and speaks to who its owner is.”
No matter what style or period you choose, and no matter how you decide to use it, the timeless, flexible secretary desk is bound to become an indispensable part of your daily routine.
Browse a range of antique and vintage secretary desks on 1stDibs, including mid-century modern secretaires, Georgian secretaires and others.
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