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Desk Accessories

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Desk Accessories For Sale
Style: Victorian
Color:  Black
Pair of Picture Frame, Polished Brass, Made by J.H. France, 1900s
Located in Verviers, BE
Pair of Picture Frame, Polished Brass, Made by J.H. France, 1900s Pair photograph frame (or miniature frame) with classical Victorian design. Typical frame for wedding photographs....
Category

Early 1900s French Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Antique Gutta-Percha Inkwell, Original Glass Inserts, Circa 1880s
Located in Greven, DE
Exceptional Gutta-Percha inkwell with original glass inserts.  
Category

1880s Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Glass, Resin

English Tortoise Case
Located in New York, NY
English tortoise case. Chic tortoise business cards case with side panel button for flip-top. Rich tortoise colour and polish. England, late 19th century. Dimensions: 4" H x 2.88" W...
Category

Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Metal

Antique Gutta-Percha Inkwell, Desk Pen Tray With Glass Insert, Circa 1880s
Located in Greven, DE
Beautiful antique inkstand with one glass for the ink in the center. Made of Gutta-Percha in a very nice condition.
Category

19th Century Unknown Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Glass, Resin

Antique Victorian Tatum's Dual Postal Ink Stand with Two Crystal Inkwells
Located in Stamford, CT
Hard to find antique Victorian Tatum's dual postal inkwell stand with two crystal inkwells in a decorative iron stand with hinged lids and three pen quail rests. The inkwell is signed Tatum's Postal Ink Stand and is in very good condition, a nice desk...
Category

Late 19th Century American Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Crystal, Iron

19th Century English Papier Mache & Mother of Pearl Folio Desk Blotter
Located in Pearland, TX
A lovely antique 19th-Century English black lacquer papier mâché folio or desk blotter. This fine folio has a hand painted floral design with inlaid mother of pearl details and a gil...
Category

Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Mother-of-Pearl, Paper

Rare Polished Pig / Hog Mechanical Bell, C.1890
Located in Bath, GB
A rare find, this fabulous figural desk bell was cast in metal in the form of a pig with a quality screwed construction. The mechanical bell can be wou...
Category

1890s German Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Metal

Victorian Slate Paperweight of Hand style of Odd Fellows Hands Offs Sculpture
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Wonderful very old professional office relic with a cheeky message; Hands off! Private papers. Reminiscent of the odd fellows Victorian Era designs.
Category

1890s American Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Slate

Antique Inkwell Tatum’s Standard Crystal Well 3 Pen Quill Rests Hinged Lid
Located in San Diego, CA
Antique Ink Well Tatum’s Standard, crystal well, 3 pen quill rests, hinged lid. This piece is cast iron and crystal. It is a beauty!
Category

20th Century American Victorian Desk Accessories

Materials

Crystal, Iron

19th Century, Victorian Solid Silver Inkstand, Robert Hennell, c.1850
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
19th Century Victorian silver large lidded inkstand, of rectangular casket form, with a hindged lid, engraved with Rococo scrolls and foleage, with vacant cartooches, resting on four...
Category

19th Century British Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Silver

Antique Victorian Brass Bells in Shape of Ladies, 19th Century, Set of 2
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A couple of cast table bells in the shape of fashionable ladies. The little one showcases a Crinoline dress. They were both made in England during the ...
Category

1860s English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Antique English Figural / Novelty Ostrich Inkwell C.1880
Located in Bath, GB
A handsome and substantial novelty inkwell in the form of a running Ostrich standing on an oval shaped base with a naturalistic base incorporating two "rocks" acting as a pen rest. I...
Category

1890s British Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Fine Quality Antique Victorian French Freestanding Inlaid Boulle Desk Set
Located in Suffolk, GB
Fine quality antique Victorian French freestanding inlaid boulle desk set having a quality ornate shaped brass handle flanked by a pair of original cut glass inkwells with inlaid bou...
Category

1850s French Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

19th Century English Victorian Letter Holder
Located in Forney, TX
An English Victorian black and gilt decorated mother-of-pearl and papier mâché stationary letter / card holder or desk stand with stunning, exceptionally executed city scape hand pai...
Category

Mid-19th Century Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Other

Vintage Business Card Holder, Stand in Brass, 1950s
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A rather practical 1950s British novelty item. Intended for displaying/presenting business cards on your office desk or in your shop. Its made entirely f...
Category

1950s European Victorian Vintage Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Antique Grand Tour Micro-Mosaic Paperweight with Vatican Vignettes
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This antique Grant Tour micro-mosaic paperweight is unsigned, but presumed to have originated from Italy, or possibly the Vatican City, and dating to approximately 1880 and done in t...
Category

Late 19th Century Italian Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Slate

Antique Victorian Sterling Silver and Chalcedony Pin Cushion
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Victorian sterling silver pin cushion modelled in the form of a shoe made by Adie & Lovekin Ltd; an addition to our animal related silverware collection. This exceptional antique sterling silver pin cushion...
Category

1890s English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Sterling Silver

Unusual Antique English Novelty Match Striker, circa 1880
Located in Bath, GB
A wonderful and most unusual novelty match strike made from cast brass and just back from a professional clean and polish by our silversmith. The non-safety matches...
Category

1880s English Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Late 19th Century Inkwell Depicting a Black African Man - Goldscheider Wien
Located in London, GB
A Wonderfull quality bronze inkwell depicting a black African man, made by the goldscheider factory in Vienna around 1890, with inset glass eyes.
Category

1890s Austrian Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Bronze

Victorian Loupe Tripod Magnifying Glass in Brass, 19th Century
Located in Esbjerg, DK
Victorian jewelers or watchmakers magnifying loupe. It is fixed in a very wellmade brass tristand with machining details all-over. Adjustable lens/lenses and still operational and re...
Category

Late 19th Century English Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Rare Decorative Table Top Stereo-Graphoscope Stereo Viewer, circa 1889
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Rare decorative table top Stereo-Graphoscope Stereo Viewer with spelter metal base and wood viewing frame. Circa 1889.
Category

19th Century American Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Metal

Pair of Museum Quality Moser Polychromatic Enamelled 19th Century Vases c1890
Located in Whitburn, GB
Technical Description A truly stunning pair of 19th-century glass vases hand-decorated in polychromatic enamels with grasses, flowers, and birds. Mounted on brass stands with three legs in the form of griffins. Blue glass with pink flecks...
Category

1890s German Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Blown Glass

Impressive Victorian Banded Agate Seal
Located in Riverdale, NY
Beautiful Large Banded Agate Victorian Seal from the mid-late 19th Century. Incredible lapidary work on a beautiful single piece of antique banded agate...
Category

1870s British Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Agate

Victorian Paper Mache Lacquered Hand Painted Letter Stand
Located in Suffolk, GB
Victorian lacquered paper mâché hand painted letter stand with pretty painted blossom decorated and gilt highlights on a black lacquer background. Perf...
Category

1850s English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Paper

English Victorian Papier-Mache and Crystal Inkwell
Located in New York, NY
English Victorian papier mache floral design oval double inkwell with fluted crystal wells and handles.  
Category

20th Century British Victorian Desk Accessories

Materials

Crystal

English Victorian Bone and Brass Inkwell
Located in New York, NY
English Victorian oval burl wood and ebonized inkwell with decorative brass trim and nail heads holding a large 10 sided crystal well.  
Category

Late 19th Century British Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Crystal, Brass

Black Forest Hand Carved Terrier Inkwell Stand with Glass Eyes, Swiss circa 1880
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Black Forest hand carved terrier inkwell stand with glass eyes, Swiss, circa 1880. This highly sought-after piece features an adorable and detailed, crisply carved dog with a stylize...
Category

19th Century Swiss Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Wood

Antique English Novelty Pen / Nib Wipe, circa 1880
Located in Bath, GB
A most unusual figural pen nib wipe made from brass with a wonderful untouched antique patina. In the from of a knight in armour, the back of the helmet re...
Category

Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Antique Candle Sticks and Inkwell Émeaux de Bresse Desk Set Enamel Brass France
Located in Munich, DE
This beautifully enamelled set comprising an inkwell and two candlesticks will cheer up any room. A fine example of the wonderful enamel work executed in Bresse around 1870. The mast...
Category

1870s French Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Victorian English Silver and Tortoise Inkwell : Single Rare Piece
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
Very elegant and rare silver and tortoise Victorian inkwell: a wonderful piece for Your desk. Punched: London, 1884. A/2128.
Category

Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Silver

Pair of Large 19th Century Victorian Faceted Cut Glass Ball Paperweights
Located in London, GB
A pair of 19th Century Victorian faceted cut glass very large ball paperweights of contrasting clear and black finish. Each ball is cut with an intricately faceted geometric design w...
Category

Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Cut Glass

Magnificent Antique English Novelty Inkwell / Pen Tray - Parrot With Glass Eyes
Located in Bath, GB
A wonderful and impressive figural inkwell made from solid cast English brass, beautifully executed with a fabulous patina. Standing on little cast feet, the large leaf is of cour...
Category

1880s English Late Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Brass

Pair of Victorian Cherub Bookends
Located in Redding, CT
Pair of Cherub bookends. Made of black metal and of the Victorian time period. Price is for the pair.
Category

1880s American Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Metal

Antique Victorian Ashford Pietra Dura Marble Obelisk, 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a wonderful Derbyshire Ashford pietra dura obelisk, inlaid with lillies, circa 1880 in date. The obelisk is beautifully inlaid with a Pi...
Category

1880s English Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Marble, Malachite

French Victorian Enamel Urn Inkwell
Located in New York, NY
French Victorian enamel urn shaped inkwell with round base.
Category

19th Century French Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Enamel

French Victorian Green Marble Inkwell with Tiger
Located in New York, NY
French Victorian green marble double inkwell with bronze trim and centered figure of tiger.
Category

19th Century French Victorian Antique Desk Accessories

Materials

Marble, Bronze, Gold Leaf

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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