The authentic Biedermeier furniture on 1stDibs is representative of the first modern European decorative style not dictated by the tastes of the aristocracy. Following the Napoleonic wars, a growing, wealthy urban middle class in the German-speaking states of Central Europe began to demand rights and privileges once granted only to nobles. To avoid trouble, the upwardly striving confined their political discussions to one another’s homes. And so the salon was born.
Cabinetmakers in cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Mainz began to offer goods that reflected the tastes and needs of the new class. The makers of Biedermeier chairs, tables and other furniture used little or no gilding, silver hardware or other lavish ornament. Ebonized trims are common on Biedermeier cabinetry, and neoclassical elements — lyre-shaped chair splats, carved scrollwork, table supports shaped like Greek columns. But the strongest aesthetic statement came from the wood — richly-grained, honey-colored, often book-matched veneers of walnut and fruitwood.
There are two iconic Biedermeier furniture forms, both made to outfit rooms designed for conversation. One is the sofa, deeply upholstered with a strong, architectural wooden frame. The second is the circular pedestal table, which stood at the center of the room, offering a surface on which to place coffee and cake services; or to roll out a map, or sketch out ideas on paper.
“Biedermeier” was originally a derogatory term — it derives from the pen names of two German magazine writers who mocked bourgeois manners. Looking at the elegant and refined antique, new and vintage Biedermeier furniture offered on 1stDibs, that is now an amusing irony.
Birch Biedermeier Secretaire
Located in New York, NY
Constructed of solid birch and fir and veneered with hand-cut Nordic birch veneers, the secretary features an upper locking drawer which rests upon a fitted desk area hiding behind a...
Birch, Fir
Grande Biedermeier Secrétaire
Located in New York, NY
A perfect example of the wealthy, elegant Biedermeier period, this impressive, secretary is veneered in flame mahogany and birch intarsia, with bone escutcheons, secret compartments,...
Mahogany
$8,499
Antique French Secretary
Located in Malibu, CA
This early 19th-century drop-leaf secretaire features the traditional Biedermeier ebony accents, columns, and matched woodgrain pattern. Unlike the h...
Brass, Other
19th Century Exceptional Biedermeier Walnut Drop Front Desk. Vienna, c. 1825.
Located in Vienna, AT
This exceptional drop-front desk represents one of the finest examples of top-quality Viennese Biedermeier furniture from circa 1825. Renowned for its refined proportions, understate...
Maple, Walnut
Early 19th century Biedermeier ebonised birch escritoire
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Early 19th century biedermeier ebonised birch escritoire circa 1820. We are pleased to offer this stunning austrian biedermeier period escritoire...
Ormolu
Antique French Restoration Period Leather Top Burled Elm Desk
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Impressive 19th Century French desk handcrafted in elm wood featuring tooled black leather tops, two glove boxes with brass galleries over an arched case with seven drawers, brass ha...
Elm
Dutch Rococo Bombe Marquetry Inlaid Drop Front Desk / Secretary
Located in Queens, NY
Dutch Rococo (Late 18th Century) drop front desk / secretary with elaborate foliate marquetry inlay, with the slant front folds down to create a desk surface with a green leather inS...
Wood
Viennese Baroque Secretary Slant Door Bureau ar 1860 Straight & Heavy Solid Oak
Located in Landshut, BY
This rather straight, very heavy solid oak Viennese baroque folding desk has been carefully restored to its original condition - no replacements! Even the 2 main keys are still there...
Brass, Iron
Biedermeier Secretaire, Cherry Veneer, Ebonized, Brass, South Germany circa 1820
Located in Regensburg, DE
Fine, early Biedermeier Secretaire in Cherry Veneer from Southern Germany around 1820. Beautiful classicist (neoclassical) design with greek gable cornice, well selected blonde cherr...
Brass, Iron
Biedermeir Coffee Table or Writing Desk in Walnut, Denmark
Located in Prato, Tuscany
We kindly suggest you read the whole description, because with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to guarantee the authenticity of our objects. Danis...
Walnut
Biedermeier secretaire, circa 1830
Located in London, GB
A Biedermeier secre´taire a` abattant of unusual tapered form, goncalo alves with ebonized, inlaid and pewter decoration, and an enclosed fitted interior, Russian/Baltic, circa 1830.
Pewter
Console/Desk, Ash Veneer, Biedermeier
Located in Brussels, BE
Console/Desk, Ash Veneer, Biedermeier
Wood
Antique Biedermeier Style Desk
Located in Stahnsdorf, DE
Antique Biedermeier Style Desk – A Timeless Masterpiece Enhance your interior with this exquisite antique desk, crafted in the Empire and Biedermeier style and dating back to the ye...
Birch
Biedermeier Escritoire Desk Mahogany 1860
Located in Potters Bar, GB
Biedermeier Mahogany Escritoire. This Escritoire Features 5 Drawers and a Pull Down Writing Slope. Circa 1860 The Drawers and Fall Having Wonderful Matched Flame Mahogany Veneers. Th...
Mahogany
Biedermeier Desk, Vienna 1820-30
Located in Leimen, DE
Biedermeier desk, Vienna 1820-1825, walnut with maple marquetry. The top and the end panels with beautiful flower and vine decor. The table is in good original condition. If required...
Walnut
France Desk Style: Biedermeier, 1847
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Logistics and International Shipping We provide a comprehensive export service so that your only concern is enjoying your acquisition. • Door-to-Door Service: Pieces located in our A...
Wood
$6,210
Intarsia Secretary
Located in New York, NY
Handcrafted, this piece has been obviously been designed and created with love. Elegant intarsia inlays adorn the outside of this case piece. Inside hides a whimsical array of storag...
Birch
Continental 19th Century Biedermeier St. Butler’s Desk/Commode
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An exceptional and unique Continental 19th century Biedermeier st. flamed Mahogany, ebonized Fruitwood, and ormolu butler's desk/commode. The eight drawer chest is raised by square f...
Ormolu
$9,800
Charles 'X' Secretaire
Located in Sheffield, MA
Burled elm charles 'X' drop front secretary (secrétaire à abattant) with black marble top with white vains, drop door revealing a leather covered writing table...
Marble
Antique Biedermeier Austrian Country Secretary Bookcase Desk, Early 19th Century
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Antique Early 19th Century Biedermeier Austrian Country secretary bookcase desk Additional information: Materials: Fruitwood Color: Sienna Peri...
Fruitwood
Austro-Hungarian Secrétaire à Abattant
Located in Woodbury, CT
Wearing a layer of Austrian walnut root veneer, this secrétaire has a unique grain that one does not often see; it swirls and undulates across the surface drawing the eye along in a ...
Walnut, Burl
Austro-Hungarian Chest of Drawers in Walnut Root Veneer
Located in Woodbury, CT
The handsome lines of this chest augment its wonderful proportions with drawers flanking the center drop down writing surface. Deeper than the two below, the top drawer is supported ...
Walnut, Pine, Burl
Rare Austrian Biedermeier Walnut Writing Desk, c. 1820
Located in Southampton, NY
Rare Austrian Biedermeier Walnut Writing Desk, c. 1820 A Rare Austrian Biedermeier Writing Desk, chest of drawers, walnut root head venee...
Maple, Walnut
Chest of Drawers Biedermeier from 1840
Located in Kraków, Małopolska
We present very good condition, elegant and functional Chest of Drawers Vienna (Austria), made of walnut tree from 1840. (Biedermeier was a style in the art, literature , music a...
Walnut
20th Century Unique Biedermeier Writing Desk, Flamed Birch
Located in Berlin, DE
20th century unique Biedermeier writing desk, flamed birch Exceptional Biedermeier desk. With a hinged worktop. Birch veneer on solid wood....
Birch
German Biedermeier Slant-Front Desk
Located in Hudson, NY
A very good German slant front desk with a lower case of drawers. The writing surface very nicely finished veneers with interior drawers having inlay ...
Brass
Unusual Early 19th Century Biedermeier Library Desk, German or Austrian
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
A very attractive early 19th century library desk, veneered an precious satinwood, with ebonised banding, the freeze with three drawers to th...
Fruitwood, Satinwood
$14,500
H 84 in W 48 in D 24 in
19th Century Scandinavian Birch Empire Bureau Secretary with Bookcase, c. 1820
Located in INTERLAKEN, NY
A very fine Scandinavian Empire/Biedermeier secretary in beautiful birch wood with mahogany interior, Denmark, circa 1820. The highly sculptural form makes this piece an outstanding ...
Birch
$7,800
H 56.25 in W 38 in D 16 in
Early 19th Century French Empire Flame Mahogany Drop Front Secretary Desk
Located in Miami, FL
Classic antique Early 19th Century French Empire drop front secretary desk made with magnificent high quality flame mahogany adorned with bronze doré mounts and its original gray mar...
Bronze
Antique Early American 19th Century Pine Plantation Desk
Located in Forney, TX
An early American 19th century pine plantation desk with nicely aged patina. Born in the Mid-Atlantic region / Southern United States, circa 1800s, hand-crafted of solid pine wood with mellow warm tone and rich grain patterns, one-piece construction, having a stepped molded cornice above a tall pair of paneled cabinet doors, opening to reveal an interior fitted with shelves and divided slots for documents, plank boarded back with old metal patch, over a lift-top writing slope with spacious storage underneath, the apron adorned with simple decorative pilasters...
Pine
Swedish Secretary with Marquetry
Located in New York, NY
A masterpiece of symmetry, the cantilevered sides of the body meet the rectangular working surface, creating a setback for the upper writing surface. Crafted of Nordic birch and fir,...
Birch
$3,900Sale Price|50% Off
H 39 in W 50 in D 23 in
19th Century Italian Cherrywood Drop-Front Desk Secretaire with Inlay
Located in San Francisco, CA
A cherrywood drop front desk with four small drawers fitted in the upper interior and three drawers below. Handsomely detailed inlay work, lovely patina and Fine quality workmanship...
Cherry
"Swedish Grace" Period Secretary
Located in New York, NY
Grace was the inspiration for this lovely birch secretary which makes working from home a joy! Three locking drawers sit beneath a generous drop-front with 6 interior drawers, a pair...
Birch
$1,800Sale Price|20% Off
H 65.75 in W 34 in D 19.25 in
Antique Eastlake Incised Walnut and Burl Slant Front Secretary, circa 1890
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique Eastlake secretary offers paneled walnut construction with upper having shaped crest surmounting shelf and slant front opening to writing...
Burl, Walnut
$4,856Sale Price|30% Off
H 57.09 in W 36.23 in D 14.97 in
French Louis XVI Secretaire Abattant / Secretary desk, circa 1800
Located in Lucenec, SK
The secrétaire à abbatant or fall front desk is nearly identical to the desk 5th President James Monroe brought back from France in 1797. These desks are ...
Brass
Classic Antique French Cherry Desk with Breadboard Top
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A Classic Antique Provincial French writing table with breadboard top. Plank top two drawer desk featuring scalloped knee hole and apron with two drawers with brass pulls on simple c...
Wood, Cherry
Early 19th Century Regency Mahogany Partners Desk
Located in Essex, MA
Period early 19th century Regency Mahogany Partners desk. Drawers on both sides. Great proportion. Excellent quality...
Mahogany
$6,500
H 30.5 in W 48.25 in D 26.75 in
French Louis XVI Style Mahogany Writing Desk W/ Cognac Leather Top
Located in Astoria, NY
A refined early 20th century French Louis XVI style writing desk sourced in Paris and crafted in mahogany, expressing the clarity and symmetry associated with neoclassical design. Th...
Brass
$10,500
H 28.75 in W 60 in D 42.75 in
19th Century English George III Style Burled Walnut Partners Desk Leather Top
Located in St. Louis, MO
A classic 19th Century English large burled walnut partners desk in Georgian III style, with a original red leather skiver top with tooled edges, showing the character that comes wit...
Brass
Early 19th century Biedermeier ebonised birch escritoire
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Early 19th century biedermeier ebonised birch escritoire circa 1820. We are pleased to offer this stunning austrian biedermeier period escritoire...
Mirror, Birch
19th Century Biedermeier Mahogany Cylinder-Top Bureau Desk
Located in San Francisco, CA
A good north Germany (possibly Hamburg) Biedermeier Cylinder Bureau overall of beautifully figured mahogany veneers; as the writing surface is pulled outward the cylinder top opens t...
Mahogany
Sold
H 75 in W 41.75 in D 20.75 in
Biedermeier Style Burled Birchwood Secretary Desk by Colombo Mobili
Located in Shippensburg, PA
BIEDERMEIER STYLE BURLED BIRCHWOOD SECRETARY DESK Executed by Colombo Mobili, ca. 21st century Item # 312SBP08Q A truly remarkable Biedermeier style secretaire a'abattant desk...
Brass
Antique Biedermeier Secretary Desk, Early 19 Century
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Antique Early 19C Biedermeier Secretary Desk Extended depth is 31". Additional information: Materials: Ebony Color: Light Yellow Per...
Ebony
Biedermeier Secretary Desk, South Germany, 1820
Located in Belmont, MA
This extraordinary Biedermeier secretary desk dates back to around 1820 and comes from southern Germany. The unique desk has a very pretty walnut veneer on the outside, with a beauti...
Walnut
Sold
H 31 in W 60 in D 28 in
Vintage Hickory White Biedermeier Maple Ebonized Writing Desk Library Table
Located in Dayton, OH
An impressive Biedermeier style desk by Hickory White, circa 1990s. Made from maple with ebonized accents and a polished glass top. Features a rectangular matchbook top with checkered inlay. Includes three drawers within the frieze and brass pulls. The desk is supported by beautifully flared square legs. Could double as a console or library table. No 27333-26 The White Furniture Co. was founded in 1881 in Mebane, NC. In 1902 the first furniture factory was founded in Catawba County, NC, (later to become the heart of the American furniture and textile industry) and was known as the Hickory Manufacturing Co...
Maple
Prewar Biedermeier Mahogany Secretary Desk
Located in Opole, PL
Prewar Biedermeier mahogany secretary desk We present you a mahogany secretary desk, circa before 1939, stylized as Biedermeier. This piece of furniture is composed of three drawers in the lower section and a sliding panel, which is covered by a cylindrical board. There are three compartments flush with the panel. The middle compartment has a liftable lid, whereas the two side ones can be closed with a sliding board...
Mahogany
Biedermeir Style French Wooden Writing Desk-Table with Drawer
Located in Prato, Tuscany
We kindly suggest that you read the entire description, as with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to ensure the authenticity of our objects. A fine ...
Oak
Biedermeier Figured Walnut Secretary
Located in Essex, MA
Rectangular finished top over a drawer and a fold down desk opening to compartments and a writing surface over the other graduated drawers. Plinth base.
Mother-of-Pearl, Walnut
Sold
H 42.13 in W 70.87 in D 31.5 in
18th Century Biedermeier Shutter Desk Made in 1790s Austria, Restored
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
18th century Biedermeier shutter desk made in 1790s Austria, Restored The desk has been re-polished with polyutherane piano lacquer by our professional refurbishing team in Czechia ...
Cherry, Walnut, Spruce
Antique Birch Secretary Bureau from Denmark
Located in Round Top, TX
Evocative birch biedermeier secretary with 20 inner drawers surrounding a central cubbie(a "hidden drawer" is below the cubbie). Please enlarge photos to appreciate the natural beaut...
Wood, Birch
19th Century Biedermeier Walnut Writing Chest of Drawer
Located in Darmstadt, DE
The chest of drawers dates back to the early Biedermeier period. The dresser was built with mirrored walnut veneer on a softwood body. The columns are made of solid walnut. Quality f...
Other