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Desk Accessories For Sale
Period: 19th Century
Period: 1990s
19th Century Pharmacy Glass Bottle with Painted Inscription "Jar Simple"
Located in Marbella, ES
19th century Pharmacy glass bottle with painted inscription "Jar SImple".
Category
19th Century Spanish Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Glass
André Ricard 'Olympic Torch Prototype' for Barcelona 1992 Games, circa 1992
By André Ricard
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Olympic torch prototype (PT) in chromed plastic for Barcelona '92 by André Ricard.
Manufactured in Spain, circa 1990.
In good original condition, w...
Category
1990s Spanish Modern Desk Accessories
Materials
Chrome
Pair of decorative table frames, brass, circa 1880
Located in Wien, AT
Wonderful pair of rare stand/table frames, made circa 1890.
The construction is made of brass, into which a glass plate has been inserted, in between is place for the image you hav...
Category
1890s European Belle Époque Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
Playing Cats or Kittens, Gilded Bronze Desk Set, c.1890
Located in Bath, GB
A rare and magnificent English desk set made from gilded bronze in superb condition. The set consists of a pair of candlesticks, a pen tray, an inkwell, a seal and a letter opener.
...
Category
1890s British Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Sevres Porcelain Marbelized Gilt and Lustre Dolphin Inkwell, Dated 1832
Located in New York, NY
Marked MC-31 for Micaud.
Category
1830s French Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Porcelain
Large Antique English Brass Owl Inkwell, circa.1890
Located in Bath, GB
A wonderful and rare large figural inkwell, beautifully executed in the form of an Owl with fine detail.
The hinged head lifts to reveal a fitted ink chamber which looks to be a ...
Category
1890s British Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
Beautiful Classic Table Lamp in Matte Gold from the 19th Century
Located in Knivsta, SE
Beautiful classic table lamp in matte gold with polished edges in gold. Originally a kerosene lamp from the late 19th century that was converted int...
Category
Late 19th Century European Classical Roman Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Gold Plate, Brass
Eagle Bronze Inkwell, Signed Anton Puchegger, Austria, circa 1890
Located in Milan, IT
Eagle bronze inkwell. Over the rectangular base rise the sculpture which spins revealing the ink reservoir. Ivory beak. Signed A.Puchegger (1878 – 1917). Austria 1890 ca. (SHIP TO EU...
Category
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Armor and Venus Early 19th Century French Empire Ormolu Sculpture Gilt Bronze
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
This beautiful Empire bronze sculpture shows winged Amor carrying Venus, she is holding a wreath in her right hand, surrounded within a circula...
Category
Early 19th Century German Empire Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Antique Inkwell, Baccarat Déposé, Gilded Brass, Late 19th Century
Located in Greven, DE
Exceptional inkwell with pen tray made of BACCARAT crystal. The rectangular pen tray has a cube-shaped inkwell holder in the center, closed with a gild...
Category
Late 19th Century Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Crystal, Gold Plate, Brass
19th Century Polychrome Sculpture of a Roman Woman
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Italian original painted plaster sculpture of a young Roman woman in nice gilt dress and flower wreath. This well sculptured smiling lady cou...
Category
1880s Italian Neoclassical Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Plaster
Rare Antique English Regency Rosewood & Brass Writing Slope Box Lap Desk
Located in Shippensburg, PA
A RARE AND FINE REGENCY ROSEWOOD WRITING SLOPE
England, circa 1815; includes a circa 1849 quill by Isaac Parkes
Item # 801EZX27
An inordinately fine box, the exterior is dressed wit...
Category
1810s English Regency Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
19th Century Wooden Oriental Divider with Hand Painted Paper Decorations
Located in Marbella, ES
19th century Wooden Oriental Divider with Hand Painted Paper Decorations.
Category
19th Century Japanese Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Wood, Paper
Antique Victorian Walnut Purple Velvet Campaign Writing Desk Slope
Located in Dayton, OH
Antique Victorian campaign writing desk slope. Made of walnut featuring purple velvet writing surface with multiple compartments and functional l...
Category
19th Century Campaign Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Velvet, Walnut
Pair of Marble Paperweight with Fruits, XIXth Century
Located in MARSEILLE, FR
2 white marble paperweights with tinted marble fruit, Italian work from the 19th century
Small chips
Height 8.5cm
10x17cm.
Category
19th Century Italian Napoleon III Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Marble
19th Century Burr Walnut Handcrafted Exquisite Writing Slope with Brass Inlay
Located in High Wycombe, GB
19th Century Burr Walnut Handcrafted Exquisite Writing Slope With Brass Inlay
A handcrafted exquisite writing slope with tooled leather fitted interior befit with a glass inkwell
Would make an ideal gift for the writing enthusiast.
Item will include pad, quill (modern) and stand and inkwell.
Antique lap desks...
Category
19th Century British Campaign Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
Double Inkwell of the XIXth Century in Gilded Bronze
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
"Double inkwell of the XIXth Century in gilded bronze"
Important double inkwell, Napoleon III period, gilded bronze with nice neo-classical decorations, XIXth century.
H: 12cm, W...
Category
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
An Italian Specimen Marble Paperweight
Located in Spencertown, NY
The square paperweight with specimen marbles inset in yellow marble ground.
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Grand Tour Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Marble
Antique Inkwell, Gilded Bronze, Antique Desk Utensil, Vase-Shaped, Pen Tray
Located in Greven, DE
Antique inkwell made from bronze, gilded.
Very good condition of the bronze work.
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Gold, Bronze
Antique Inkwell, Crystal Glass, Silver Plated, Late 19th Century
Located in Greven, DE
Inkwell made from crystal glass.
The lid is silver-plated.
Category
Late 19th Century Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Crystal, Silver Plate
Antique Brass Strapped Mahogany Writing Box
Located in Northampton, GB
A large military-style solid Mahogany double opening writing box, with brass corner brackets, strapping and flush fitting campaign-style side handles. Co...
Category
19th Century British Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
Unusual Antique Victorian Quality Brass Inkwell
Located in Suffolk, GB
Unusual antique Victorian quality brass inkwell having a quality antique Victorian brass inkwell of a dog with original glass eyes on a circula...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
Antique Small Tray, Signed Octave Georges Lelievre, Gilded Bronze
Located in Greven, DE
Beautiful small plate made from gilded bronze.
Signed "O. Lelièvre" by the french artist Octave Georges Lelièvre (*1869- ?).
The plate shows floral applications and little bugs and...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Gold, Bronze
19th Century, French, Patinated Bronze Hunting Dog and Duck Inkwell
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a man's desk or office with this antique dog and bird inkwell. Created in France circa 1870 and attributed to Jules Moiniez, the sculpture composition depicts a setter head ...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Antique Indian Wooden Hand Noodle Grinder with Carved Ram and Vice Press
Located in Yonkers, NY
An Indian antique carved wooden hand noodle press from the 19th century, with stylized ram motif. Created in India during the 19th century, this wooden piece was originally used to hand make noodles. Showcasing a vice press, the body is adorned with a stylized carved ram whose head and behind expand from a central square. This container is where the dough was placed and the vice part would press it into noodles. The ram head is carved in a quite stylized manner, the large antlers helping us identify the animal. The sides are accented with medallions adorned with rosettes. Boasting a nicely weathered appearance revealing its nice age and use, this antique Indian carved wooden...
Category
19th Century Indian Rustic Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Wood
Very Rare circa 1850 Chinese Hand-Carved Serving Tray with Snake Handles & Frog
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this very rare circa 1850 hand-carved from a single piece of timber serving tray with snake handles chasing a frog
A very good looking and exqui...
Category
Mid-19th Century Chinese Chippendale Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Wood
Early English 19th Century Pewter Plate
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Small round pewter plate with London and makers mark on the rear side.
Category
Early 19th Century English Empire Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Pewter
Gardener’s Delight, Antique French Empire Gilt Bronze Beehive Model Encrier
Located in New York, NY
Great fun for a gardening afficionado - a delightful desk accessory wether you're planning a beautiful garden, tending a beehive, ordering new seeds for the season or wish for a an uplifting reminder at your work space of the bounty and beauty of nature...
France, 19th century
This fabulous antique French gilt bronze inkstand has a beehive central well with a hay stack cover, several bees on the surface, flanked by two bronze baskets with covers laden with fruit, flowers and wheat sheaves, at the base of one sits a bird leaning over a large basket with a container for sand in the shape of a large bunch of wheat tied with a rope and a bird perched on top as a cover. The back of this fantasy is composed of a group of garden implements which include a sickle, a spade, a trowel, a scythe, ring pliers and a pitch fork tied with an attractive bow and hung with garlands of flowers, masses of grapes, wheat forming a support for a quill. The base designed as naturalistic wood logs topped with rustic wood...
Category
19th Century French Empire Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Japan 1890 Meiji Period Signed Okimono Sculpture of a Group of Skeletons Smoking
Located in Miami, FL
Sculptural signed Okimono from the Japanese Meiji period (1868-1912).
Very rare, unusual and large sculptural assembling of a dysplaying piece of okimono. Created in Japan during the imperial period of the Meiji (1868-1912). This extraordinary okimono was carefully carved depicting a group of three intricately and realistically rendered carousing skeletons (Gaikotsu) in relax and resting position, drinking and smoking. Two of them, probably males representations are resting on a wicker sofa. The third, is a woman seated in a lower stool offering drinking cups of sake on a round tray. A small rectangular bench is arranged in the scene.
The composition is displayed on a four-legged carved wood platform with an inlaid red plaque engraved with the artist's signature. The level of detail and the quality of the carving is truly exceptional.
Has an exact measurements of 209.55 mm by 196.85 mm by 127.76 mm (8.25 x 7.75 x 5.03 Inches).
After an extensive collection of data, comparables and references to this piece, we have only been able to find only three okimono sculptures like this with similar themes and the same quality of work.
References Note: A similar carving of four skeletons playing an animated game of dominos, signed Shutaro in an inlaid rectangular red plaque, was sold in London by Christie’s South Kensington in October 14 2014, Lot 120 Sale 5546.
References Note: A similar carving with four skeletons in an otherwise typical victorian scene of a photographer and three sitters signed Shutaro in an inlaid rectangular red plaque, was sold in Edinburgh at Lyon & Turnbull in November 7, 2018.
References Note: A similar carving with five skeletons seated, playing cards and drinking, was sold in London by John Nicholson Fine Art on September 26, 2018.
Meiji period, is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization by Western powers to the new paradigm of a modern, industrialized nation state and emergent great power, influenced by Western scientific, technological, philosophical, political, legal, and aesthetic ideas. As a result of such wholesale adoption of radically different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound, and affected its social structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji. It was preceded by the Keio era and was succeeded by the Taisho era, upon the accession of Emperor Taisho.
Okimono, is a Japanese term meaning for display an ornament; art object; or decorative object, usually displayed in a tokonoma or butsudan "Buddhist altar". It is an ornament or figure, especially one placed in a guest room. An okimono may be a small Japanese...
Category
1890s Japanese Meiji Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Wood
Pair of Bronze Candle Holders. 19th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Pair of candlesticks. Bronze. XIX century.
Pair of candlesticks with a circular base with a raised edge and decorated with two engraved lines, a vase-shaped
axis with fine smooth ...
Category
19th Century European Neoclassical Revival Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
French 2 Pot Inkwell Stand with a Hunting Retriever Dog
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
French 2 pot inkwell stand with a Hunting Retriever Dog
This is a very attractive desk top inkwell, the centre of the stand is set with a curly coated retrie...
Category
Late 19th Century Country Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Spelter
Late 19th Century Patinated Bronze Eagle on Black Marble Stand
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Large French Eagle on a Belgian Black Marble Stand, circa 1880-1900.
This amazing Eagle sculpture is made in a solid bronze that still has the original patina, with a unbeatable age-...
Category
Late 19th Century French Folk Art Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Belgian Black Marble, Bronze
Petite English Victorian Period 19th Century Carved Wooden Bird Sculpted Group
Located in Atlanta, GA
A petite antique English Victorian period small carved wooden sculpted group from the 19th century depicting two small birds nesting with each other and accented with orange paint. C...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Wood
Famille Rose Qianlong Period Enamel Inkwell by L'Escalier de Cristal C.1880
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
A Famille Rose Painted Enamel inkwell set Qianlong Period (1736-1795) by l’Escalier de Cristal
It consists of a fretworked tray with raised edges in blackened wood surrounded by a fine gilded bronze ring, on which rests two Famille Rose Qianlong Period (1736-1795) hexagonal inkwells with pierced tops, one with original glass container, decorated with polychrome stylised flower heads and foliate scrollwork.
This inkwell is characteristic of the productions of the Maison de l'Escalier de Cristal, it shows a hybrid realization, using ancient Asian elements, used as a container for feathers and ink.
Stamped «Escalier de Cristal Paris»
Circa 1880
L’Escalier de Cristal, Parisian firm created about 1800 by Mme veuve Desarnaud, famous under the French « Restoration » for its decorative objects combining crystal and bronze. She was awarded a gold medal at the 1819 Paris Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie for an outstanding gilt-bronze mounted crystal dressing table. Located in Paris, at the Palais-Royal, Galerie de Valois, L’Escalier de Cristal was bought out around 1830 by Boin, and then by Lahoche in 1840. The company owed its rise to a position amongst the most im-portant Paris decorative wares shops to Lahoche, who expanded considerably the business and entered later in partnership with his son-in-law to set up in 1852 Lahoche et Pannier...
Category
1870s French Japonisme Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Ormolu, Enamel
Victorian Era Inkstand with Boulle Marquetry in Ebonised Wood and Brass
Located in London, GB
Victorian era inkstand with Boulle marquetry in ebonised wood and brass
English, dated 1853
Measures: Height 17cm, width 38.5cm, depth 27.5cm
This 19th Century English inkstand ...
Category
Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
Black Forest Wood Carved Brienz Bear Inkwell German Vintage, 1890s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Classic 1890s black forest Brienz wood carved inkwell in form of a Bear. Nice addition to your room or just for use it on your desk. Made of hand carved wood and glass eyes. Found at...
Category
1890s German Black Forest Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Wood
Set of Old Bound Books, 19th Century
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Set of old books dating from the 19th century. From an old protestant library near Le Havre in France. These books are entitled "Histoire du protestantisme français" (History of Fren...
Category
19th Century French Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Leather, Paper
Inkwell of the XIXth Century in Gilded Bronze
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
"Inkwell of the XIXth Century in gilded bronze"
Inkwell, Napoleon III period, gilt bronze, 19th century.
H: 15cm, W: 21cm, D: 14,5cm.
Category
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Wax Seal Impressions in Turned Lignum Vitae Boxes
Located in East Geelong, VIC
All seven of these red sealing wax impressions are housed in nicely turned lignum vitae boxes with screw on lids. The boxes range in diameter from 29 ...
Category
1830s English Georgian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Ebony
19th C. Rosewood Brass Bound
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A Handsome Campaign Style Box with nice deep color and decorative brass mounts, top medallion and escutcheon (lacking a key). The inside lid and sides lined in dark green velvet, the bottom with vintage printed paper...
Category
19th Century Campaign Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
Antique Classic Brass Ink Well
Located in Seguin, TX
Circa 1890's brass inkwell with glass insert. Monogramed WRE on top, likely gilt finish at one time which has now worn off. Felt bottom, overall patina.
Category
Late 19th Century American Art Nouveau Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass
Antique Victorian Brass & Scottish Agate Postal Scale & Weights, Circa 1865-1870
Located in New Orleans, LA
Antique Victorian Brass and Scottish Agate Postal scale with Weights, Circa 1865-1870.
Category
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Agate, Brass
Black Forest Carved Walnut Reclining Swiss Mountain Dog, Swiss, ca. 1880
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Black Forest Breinzware Walnut Inkwell, carved as a reclining Swiss Mountain Dog, with a hinged top, and two interior glass inkwells, Brienz, Switzerland ...
Category
1880s Swiss Black Forest Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Walnut
Antique French Gilt Bronze Inkwell on Rouge Marble Stand, 19th Century
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Antique French gilt bronze inkwell on rouge marble stand. It is of superb quality and features a central figure of Diana The Huntress.
Provenance: From the estate of Texas Oil...
Category
19th Century Regency Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Metal Stamp with Wooden Handle, Italy, 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Metal stamp with wooden handle exhibited at the congress and systematic exhibition on Italian Risorgimento Art.
Text of the stamp General secretariat o...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Metal
19th Century Cast Iron French Figural Bird Heron Paper Clip or Letter Holder
By Susse Freres
Located in Haarlem, NL
Rare 19th century French heavy cast iron clip with spring in the shape of a birds head.
Most likely a heron, the hinge in its 'jaw joint' makes its beak act as a clip.
You pinch the back and its feathered neck to open the beak.
So this pretty item could be used as paper clamp...
Category
Late 19th Century French Art Nouveau Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Iron
Antique Anglo-Indian Vizagapatam Stag Antler Horn Slope Top Writing Desk c 1800s
Located in Chicago, IL
Stag antler table top desk secretary or rather as described by a British expert: an Anglo-Indian stag antler writing slope table top desk, late 19th century from Vizagapatam, which was the headquarters of the Vizagapatam District of Madras during the British period. Stag Antler anything is rare and unusual today, especially when it is completely covered in carved strips of Natural unpolished Antler. Finding Stag Antler Writing Desks are beyond rare and in our 30-years in the Antique business...
Category
1870s Indian Black Forest Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Sandalwood, Leather, Antler, Bone
19th Century Bronze Apothecary Mortar & Pestle, Circa 1800
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
The cup shaped cast body decorated with incised ring-turned detail, rising from a waisted & stepped circular foot, together with its original pestle.
Combined weight, 3.75 lbs.
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Grand Tour Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Antique Inkwell, Gilded Bronze, Antique Desk Utensil, Vase-Shaped
Located in Greven, DE
Antique inkwell made from bronze, gilded.
On the base is depicted a hunting scene with hunting hounds in the woods.
Very good condition of the bronze work.
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Gold, Bronze
Pair of Porphyry and Yellow Marble Columns, 19th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
The grand tour porphyry columns with yellow marble Corinthian capitals and bases on black slate and gray Brescia ogee formed squares.
Measures: height: 16” base: 3 1/4” square.
Category
19th Century Italian Grand Tour Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Marble, Porphyry
Florentin Wooden Bases, 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Handcrafetd florentine wooden bases of 19th century Italy.
Measures: 12x15 cm.
Good conditions.
Category
19th Century European Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Wood
Antique Victorian Betjemann's Self Closing Coromandel Book Slide
Located in Norwood, NJ
This is a high quality antique Victorian Coromandel self closing adjustable book slide, circa 1860 in date.
It features a pair of oval Sevres style plaques depicting cherubs at pl...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Antique Brass Table Vesta with Novelty Enameled Figure
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
An unusual antique brass table vesta or nib holder decorated with a novelty black enamel figure of a boy diving on the ground dating from the 19th ...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Brass, Enamel
19th Century French Doré Bronze and Marble Inkwell
Located in Tampa, FL
A doré bronze and marble inkwell. It is French in the Empire style. Compartments have their little glass containers for ink and are all original.
Category
1890s French Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Small Antique Calligrapher's Quill Pot, Chinese, Soapstone, Carved, Victorian
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a small antique calligrapher's quill pot. A Chinese, rouge soapstone carved pen holder, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1900.
Intricate pierced detail accentuates...
Category
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Soapstone
Chic & Stylish Mercier Frères, Paris Nutwood and Gilt Bronze Ladies Writing Desk
Located in Lisse, NL
Finest quality and stunning design Louis XVI style desk, circa 1890.
Owning and using top quality pieces of furniture from times when European craftsmen were at the top of their game is something that will lift your spirit like very few things can. That is ofcourse is you are able to recognize quality. It will remain a mystery why so many people don't seem to see the quality and the details of even the best quality made antiques. This wonderful antique ladies desk...
Category
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Bronze
Antique English Coromandel & Ormolu Mounted Four Piece Desk Set Mid 19th C
Located in London, GB
This is a wonderful and highly decorative antique Victorian ormolu mounted coromandel four piece desk set by the renowned London maker of luxury items, Betjemann & Sons, cira 1860 in...
Category
1860s English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Ormolu
Sealing Seal, Zebra Jasper and Silver, Period: 19th Century
Located in CRÉTEIL, FR
Very nice seal in green zebra jasper with black stripes.
The zebra jasper is the "anti-apathy" stone.
It allows to be optimistic in spite of the stress of the life and gives mo...
Category
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Desk Accessories
Materials
Silver
Antique, New and Vintage Desk Accessories
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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Desk Dog
Small Leather Tray
Antique Traveling Desk
Antique Travel Desk
Desks Deco English
English Art Deco Desks
Equestrian Plates
Colored Glass Desk
French Antique Inkwells
Desk Shaped Inkwell
Gold Pen Holder