Brass Bells
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Scu...
Brass
Antique 1860s English Victorian More Desk Accessories
Brass
Early 20th Century French Other Sheffield and Silverplate
Abalone, Mother-of-Pearl
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Brass
20th Century Asian Religious Items
Brass
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian More Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Scu...
Brass
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Brass
Early 20th Century Unknown More Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Scu...
Brass
1990s Italian Other Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver, Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian More Desk Accessories
Brass, Bronze
Antique Early 19th Century Victorian Desk Sets
Brass
Antique Late 19th Century English Art Nouveau Inkwells
Art Glass
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2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
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21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights an...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights an...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights an...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-...
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Brass, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Bookends
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21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
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21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Art Nouveau Doors and Gates
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Antique Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Taxidermy
Other
Early 20th Century Rustic Religious Items
Metal
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Bottles
Bronze
Vintage 1930s French Sterling Silver
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
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Early 20th Century American Art Deco Nautical Objects
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Vintage 1910s English More Desk Accessories
20th Century Israeli Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Desk Accessories
Vintage 1940s American Nautical Objects
Antique 1720s British Queen Anne More Desk Accessories
Antique 1790s European Inkwells
Brass
Early 20th Century Paperweights
Brass
Antique 1790s English Federal Paperweights
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Vintage 1980s American Victorian More Desk Accessories
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Brass
Vintage 1950s Danish Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
Antique Late 19th Century Swedish Late Victorian More Desk Accessories
Brass
20th Century More Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1920s American Chinoiserie More Dining and Entertaining
Brass
Antique 1880s British Late Victorian More Desk Accessories
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Vintage 1950s Austrian Desk Accessories
Brass
Antique 1860s British Nautical Objects
Brass
Vintage 1940s British Nautical Objects
Brass
Antique 1840s British Nautical Objects
Brass
Vintage 1910s American Arts and Crafts Paperweights
Metal
Vintage 1970s Asian Bohemian More Desk Accessories
Brass
Antique 1880s English British Colonial Paperweights
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
Antique Early 1800s European Early Victorian More Desk Accessories
Brass
1990s Southeast Asian Moorish More Desk Accessories
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Machine Age Nautical Objects
Brass
Vintage 1980s Indian Moorish More Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Aluminum, Brass
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
Antique Late 19th Century American High Victorian More Desk Accessories
Marble, Brass
Early 20th Century European Art Nouveau Animal Sculptures
Onyx, Brass
20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
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Antique Late 19th Century French Napoleon III More Desk Accessories
Alabaster, Metal
Vintage 1920s French Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Wood
Vintage 1930s European Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1950s European Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Brass
Antique 1870s European George IV Paperweights
Brass
Antique Early 1900s Mexican Other More Desk Accessories
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Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Historical Memorabilia
Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Brass
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Brass
Antique 19th Century English Desk Accessories
Antique 19th Century Desk Accessories
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Antique 18th Century and Earlier German Clocks
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1970s American Clocks
Antique 19th Century American Clocks
Antique 1890s English Late Victorian More Desk Accessories
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21st Century and Contemporary French Belle Époque Collectibles and Curio...
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Belle Époque Collectibles and Curio...
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Finding the Right Desk Accessories for You
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.
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