Retro Thomasville Secretary Desk

Thomasville Furniture was once a manufacturing giant known for its chic designs and popular licensed collections. Today, every vintage solid wood Thomasville cabinet, dining chair and dining table is a charming piece of American furniture history.

Thomasville was founded in 1904 in the town of Thomasville, North Carolina. The neighboring city of High Point, home to Tomlinson and others, would one day be known as the capital of American-made furniture, while iconic mid-century modern brands Century, Broyhill and Drexel also opened their doors in the so-called “Tar Heel State.”

Thomasville’s initial offerings were limited to one item — the Thomasville chair — and it was known in its early days as the Thomasville Chair Company. People loved Thomasville chairs so much that demand surged for more types of seating and other furnishings. In 1922, there was even a 13-foot replica of the original chair design installed in the town square. Dubbed "The Big Chair," it was rebuilt in 1951 to a height of 30 feet and still serves as the town's most notable landmark.

Thomasville quickly grew and expanded, and was featured in hundreds of retail stores across America. The manufacturer also established Thomasville Home Furnishing stores to carry the company’s products exclusively. In 1995, Thomasville was purchased by Interco Inc.

In 2002, Thomasville unveiled the Humphrey Bogart collection, the first of two highly successful licensed collections. Inspired by the Art Deco movement as well as the Hollywood Regency style, the theatrical line of alluring mahogany chests, mirror-topped nesting tables and other furnishings positioned glamour and sophistication front and center. Upon seeing the collection, Bogart's widow, actress Lauren Bacall, remarked, "They haven't missed a trick."

This was followed in 2004 by the Ernest Hemingway collection, released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the writer's Nobel Prize. The collection, which included sleigh beds, chests, dining tables and more, drew on Chippendale furniture and the French Rococo style. It represented the largest launch in Thomasville's history, boosting the company's sales and brand image.

In 2008, Thomasville introduced a new signature collection in collaboration with designer Darryl Carter. The partnership yielded a line of versatile traditionalist center tables, seating and other pieces with a contemporary twist and saw Carter offering a fresh take on the classic work for which Thomasville is known.

In 2014, Thomasville, then owned by Heritage Home Group, announced the end of operations in its native city.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Thomasville case pieces, tables, seating and more.

There’s no reason that the corner of your home you’ve dedicated to work shouldn’t also reflect your personality and sense of style. A collection of unique vintage and antique desks can be found on 1stDibs today.

The right desk can be a good fit for your space and help keep you organized when you need it most. For many, the word “desk” can have a negative connotation. Derived from the Latin desca, meaning “table to write on,” the word can understandably evoke memories of stuffy classrooms or monotonous workdays.

As working from home has become more widespread for part of the workforce, many professionals who work remotely park themselves at the dining-room table or at the kitchen countertop to do so. If you’ve got the space, it's healthy to set aside an area in your home designated for work. A good desk can keep you on track and keep your newly minted home office free of clutter and distractions. 

Within your own walls, an office area can be both personal and productive, decorated exactly to your taste or just an unobtrusive addition that aligns with the energy of the space as is. When shopping for a desk, keep height, space and specs in mind. It’s helpful to know if you’ll need the desk to offer storage, such as drawers or a hutch, or if it should fit alongside your bedroom wall as cleanly as possible.

An antique writing desk, for example, will offer a spacious, streamlined work experience with a desktop that affords real estate for your notebooks, pens, laptop and research materials. Secretary desks reveal small inner storage compartments — pigeonholes, cubbies, recesses or drawers — when their hinged leaves are folded out.

Maybe you'd prefer a vintage mid-century modern desk that seamlessly incorporates drawers for storage.

Nebraska-born designer Don S. Shoemaker became inspired by Mexico’s tropical woods, such as cocobolo, a Mexican rosewood, and he decided to work with the material in the postwar years to create desks and other furnishings. Elsewhere, made according to the same high standards as the company’s chairs, celebrated mid-century manufacturer Herman Miller produced desks over the years in a number of versions, created by designers like George Nelson, Gilbert Rohde and Bruce Burdick.

Whether you want a dramatic rolltop-style furnishing akin to the 18th-century secretary commissioned by Louis XVI or a contemporary piece made of everything from linoleum to fallen trees, a new desk and clever arrangement of desktop accessories can brighten the workday in any home. 

For every passion project, year-end report or spontaneous million-dollar app idea, find the desk you need on 1stDibs.