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Blockfront Desk

19th C Chippendale Style Mahogany Block Front Shell Carved Secretary Desk Lowboy
Located in Philadelphia, PA
19th century Chippendale style mahogany blockfront secretary desk. Item features solid mahogany
Category

Antique Late 19th Century American Chippendale Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Vintage Thomasville Georgian Flame Mahogany Blockfront Secretary Desk
By Thomasville
Located in Germantown, MD
This Georgian style traditional block front secretary desk is matched flame grain mahogany is
Category

Late 20th Century Georgian Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

Diminutive George III Walnut Block Front Slant Front Bureau Bookcase Cabinet
Located in Germantown, MD
walnut, dovetailed and functioning as intended. Bottom section features 4 blockfront drawers and sitting
Category

Antique Mid-19th Century American George III Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Glass, Walnut

Early 19th Century American Mahogany Slant Front Desk
Located in Charleston, SC
Early 19th century American mahogany slant front desk. Probably Boston, has the blockfront shape
Category

Antique 19th Century American Commodes and Chests of Drawers

Materials

Mahogany

Kindel Winterthur Collection Mahogany Goddard Townsend Secretary Writing Desk
By Kindel Furniture
Located in Dayton, OH
Kindel Winterthur Collection Mahogany Goddard Townsend Blockfront Secretary Writing Desk. Made from
Category

Late 20th Century Federal Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

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Antique French Carved Oak Secretary Desk Bureau Drop Front Louis XV Style
Located in Shreveport, LA
Antique French carved oak secretary desk bureau drop front Louis XV Style. Direct from France, a lovely antique French carved “drop front” secretary/desk with quintessential French ...
Category

Vintage 1920s French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Italian Marquetry Walnut Burl Secretary Slant Front Desk Writing Table
Located in Carimate, Como
Very elegant Italian desk, writing table, with slant drop front, with the beautiful light and dark wood inlay decors in classic figures all around the piece. When closed we have 2 fr...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Belle Époque Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

George III Mahogany Astral Glazed Secretaire Bookcase
Located in Basingstoke, Hampshire
An early 19th century astral glazed bureau bookcase of large proportions. Displaying a pair of astral glazed doors. The base houses four long drawers, one enclosing a large fitted se...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century British George III Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

Georgian 18th Century Mahogany Bureau
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
An 18th Century Georgian Mahogany Bureau Having Well Figured Fall Flap Above Four Long Drawers With Original Water Gilt Handles Raised On Original Bracket Feet (Typical of the lat...
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century English Georgian Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Federal Cherry Slant Lid Desk
Located in Bradenton, FL
A very nice size late 18th century American Cherry Chippendale slant front desk with white Pine secondary wood. Four molded graduated drawers constructed with large early dovetails ...
Category

Antique Late 18th Century Chippendale Desks

Materials

Cherry

Federal Cherry Slant Lid Desk
Federal Cherry Slant Lid Desk
H 42 in W 36 in D 19 in
Lady's Writing Desk/ Secretary in Mahogany w/ Cylinder Top over Chest of Drawers
Located in Miami, FL
A beautiful writing secretary in figured mahogany featuring a flight of 4 drawers & a cylinder top that opens to reveal a pull out writing surface with 4 interior drawers & letter cu...
Category

Early 20th Century Danish Queen Anne Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

English Chippendale Burl Walnut Inlaid Chest on Chest with Orig. Brasses, C 1760
Located in Hollywood, SC
English Chippendale burl walnut satinwood inlaid feather banded chest on chest with a carved molded edge cornice, three upper drawers, six graduated lower drawers with interior locks...
Category

Antique 1760s English Chippendale Commodes and Chests of Drawers

Materials

Brass

Antique Painted Gustavian Grey/White Secretary with Fall-Front & Birch Interior
Located in Miami, FL
A very lovely Louis Philippe fall-front secretary in pine with a light Gustavian-grey/white painted finish, and original French-polished birch wood interior. Features a carved bonnet...
Category

Antique Mid-19th Century German Louis Philippe Secretaires

Materials

Brass

Secretary from the Beginning of the 19th Century in Mahogany, England
Located in Brussels, Brussels
Glazed secretary in mahogany from the beginning of the 19th century of very good quality. Very beautiful secretary composed of 4 drawers as well as a theater in the lower part and...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century British Early Victorian Bookcases

Materials

Mahogany

18th Century French Louis XV Walnut Desk Secretary from Provence
Located in Dallas, TX
Carved in southern France, circa 1760, the fold out secretary is both stylish and functional; the elegant writing desk crafted from solid walnut, stands on cabriole legs over a scall...
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Secretaires

Materials

Bronze

18th Century George III Mahogany Bookcase Secretary, Georgian, 1780s
Located in Roma, RM
English Bookcase, George III, circa 1780, mahogany wood, in good condition but in need of restoration. Fantastic example of English craftsmanship for this type of furniture. Carefu...
Category

Antique 1780s English George III Bookcases

Materials

Mahogany

Antique Diminutive Renaissance Revival Walnut & Burl Cylinder Secretary, c1880
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique Renaissance Revival diminutive cylinder desk offers walnut and burl construction with upper case having carved cartouche over double glass door bookcase surmounting lower ...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century European Renaissance Revival Desks

Materials

Walnut, Glass

JASPER "Generations" Inlaid Mahogany Chippendale Style Secretary Desk
By Jasper Furniture Company
Located in Charlotte, NC
A Chippendale style secretary desk by Jasper Cabinet Company, their "Generations" model. Inlaid mahogany, brass hardware, pediment top with inlaid medallion, crown molding, inlaid de...
Category

Late 20th Century American Chippendale Secretaires

Materials

Brass

Antique English George III Slant-Front Secretary w/ Bookcase in Cuban Mahogany
Located in Miami, FL
A fine 18th century George III English bureau bookcase secretary in solid West Indies/ Cuban mahogany. The bonnet features a swan neck, broken-scroll pediment with carved rosettes an...
Category

Antique Late 18th Century English George III Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

Antique 18th Century Dutch Oak Drop Front Bombe Secretary Desk Secretaire
Located in Casteren, NL
A beautiful Dutch Baroque style secretary with a 3-drawer bombe front and carved ball and claw feet. The drop front opens up to reveal an oak writing area and stepped drawers. This ...
Category

Antique Late 18th Century Dutch Baroque Commodes and Chests of Drawers

Materials

Brass

Swedish Crystal Orion Bowl by Lars Hellsten for Orrefors, 20th Century
By Orrefors
Located in Big Flats, NY
Swedish crystal Orion bowl designed for Orrefors by sculptor Lars Hellsten features flared form with scalloped edge, signed at base, 20th century Measures: 3.5" H x 5" D Additional...
Category

20th Century Swedish Crystal Serveware

Materials

Crystal

Recent Sales

Bliss Family Blockfront Desk
Located in Litchfield, CT
A Fine Chippendale Blockfront Slant-Lid Desk Boston, Massachusetts Mahogany; pine secondary wood
Category

Antique 18th Century and Earlier American Chippendale Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany, Pine

Bliss Family Blockfront Desk
Bliss Family Blockfront Desk
H 43.5 in W 42.75 in D 23.25 in
Fine Chippendale Style Carved Mahogany Blockfront Kneehole Desk
Located in Providence, RI
While we rarely handle material out of period, this kneehole is an exception because of the virtuosity of construction and materials used. Note the carved claw and ball feet with she...
Category

20th Century Chippendale Desks

Materials

Mahogany

A Rare Diminutive Chippendale Block Front Desk and Bookcase
Located in New York, NY
-FRONT DESK AND BOOKCASE The blockfront desk-and-bookcase is one of the most highly
Category

Antique 18th Century and Earlier American Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany, Cedar

Cherry Shell Carved Chippendale Blockfront Dropfront Desk C. 20th
Located in Big Flats, NY
A Chippendale style desk offers cherry construction with drop front over block case having four
Category

20th Century Desks

Materials

Brass

Antique Chippendale Style Shell Carved Mahogany Ball and Claw Drop Front Desk
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique Chippendale style smaller sized blockfront carved mahogany secretary desk. Item features
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century American Chippendale Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

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Of all the antique and vintage case pieces and storage cabinets that have become popular in modern interiors over the years, dressers, credenzas and cabinets have long been home staples, perfect for routine storage or protection of personal items. 

In the mid-19th century, cabinetmakers would mimic styles originating in the Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI eras for their dressers, bookshelves and other structures, and, later, simpler, streamlined wood designs allowed these “case pieces” or “case goods” — any furnishing that is unupholstered and has some semblance of a storage component — to blend into the background of any interior. 

Mid-century modern furniture enthusiasts will cite the tall modular wall units crafted in teak and other sought-after woods of the era by the likes of George Nelson, Poul Cadovius and Finn Juhl. For these highly customizable furnishings, designers of the day delivered an alternative to big, heavy bookcases by considering the use of space — and, in particular, walls — in new and innovative ways. Mid-century modern credenzas, which, long and low, evolved from tables that were built as early as the 14th century in Italy, typically have no legs or very short legs and have grown in popularity as an alluring storage option over time. 

Although the name immediately invokes images of clothing, dressers were initially created in Europe for a much different purpose. This furnishing was initially a flat-surfaced, low-profile side table equipped with a few drawers — a common fixture used to dress and prepare meats in English kitchens throughout the Tudor period. The drawers served as perfect utensil storage. It wasn’t until the design made its way to North America that it became enlarged and equipped with enough space to hold clothing and cosmetics. The very history of storage case pieces is a testament to their versatility and well-earned place in any room. 

In the spirit of positioning your case goods center stage, decluttering can now be design-minded.

A contemporary case piece with open shelving and painted wood details can prove functional as a storage unit as easily as it can a room divider. Whether you’re seeking a playful sideboard made of colored glass and metals, an antique Italian hand-carved storage cabinet or a glass-door vitrine to store and show off your collectibles, there are options for you on 1stDibs.

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