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Secretaires For Sale
Period: 20th Century
Period: 19th Century
French Brass Inlaid Ladies Bureau Desk
Located in Swadlincote, GB
A top quality French rosewood brass inlaid desk, with tambour front, you have to pull open the drawer to release the tambour and then fold over the original velvet writing surface, l...
Category
Early 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Secretary, desk, Danish in Rio rosewood by Dyrlund 1960.
By Dyrlund
Located in JOINVILLE-LE-PONT, FR
Magnificent Scandinavian Secretary/Desk composed of 3 large drawers on the lower part and a hinged door which opens onto storage lockers. Modernist square base. Sober and elegant des...
Category
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Rosewood
Victorian Secretary Desk Circa. 1800's
Located in Fulton, CA
American Victorian secretary desk made of solid walnut. Circa. 1875. Drop-front desk with birdseye maple detail. Carved walnut pulls with "rac...
Category
Mid-19th Century American Victorian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Birdseye Maple, Walnut
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 ...
Category
Early 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Superb George III Style Inlaid Marquetry Secretaire Cabinet
By Mayhew & Ince
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Magnificent antique English Secretaire cabinet with satinwood, hare wood, tulipwood, and kingwood marquetry, of monumental form, in two parts. The upper section with molded cresting ...
Category
19th Century English George III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Kingwood, Satinwood, Tulipwood
French Art Deco Secretaire Desk
Located in Paddock Wood Tonbridge, GB
French Art Deco Secretaire Desk
A very elegant secretire with three drawers and lockable fall down front, ideal for a hallway the cabinet stands on external legs and is figured walnu...
Category
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
Unusual 18th-19th Century Continental Secretary Bookcase
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Figured wood veneer, the top with a carved cornice over double doors. They open to two shelves over drawers and cubby holes. A middle frieze with three drawers (lacking a key) over t...
Category
19th Century European Georgian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
English Walnut Slant Front Bureau/Desk with String Inlay
Located in Woodbury, CT
Proportioned in a smaller scale than most, this slant front bureau / desk in walnut has parallel strings of satinwood surrounding the herringbone crossbanding that is used throughout...
Category
19th Century British Georgian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
19th Century English Queen Anne Chinoiserie Chest on Stand
Located in WEST PALM BEACH, FL
This is an elegant English black lacquered English Queen Anne cabinet chest on Stand decorated overall with gilt chinoiseries. This case piece was originally a traveling secretary...
Category
Early 19th Century English Queen Anne Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Fine 19th Century English Chinoiserie and Red Lacquered Slant Front Secretary
Located in Dallas, TX
A very fine and elaborated 19th century Chinoiserie red lacquered slant front secretary. Hand painted and raised decoration. The interior with pigeon holes and drawers and a writing ...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Chinoiserie Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Antique Georgian Mahogany Breakfront China Cabinet Sideboard Secretary Desk
Located in West Hartford, CT
Antique George III mahogany slant front secretary bookcase with molded cornice, glazed doors with geometric mullions, fall front writing surface with leather top. The desk interior f...
Category
Late 19th Century English George III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Glass, Mahogany
Antique Victorian Mahogany Spinet Piano Style Flip Top Secretary Writing Desk
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique Victorian Mahogany Spinet Piano Style Flip Top Secretary Writing Desk. Item features 3 drawers, pull out writing surface, flip top, very nice vintage desk. Circa Early 20th ...
Category
Early 20th Century Victorian Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
Vintage Italian Baroque Style Marquetry Inlay Flip-Up Secretary Display Cabinet
Located in Chicago, IL
Vintage Italian Baroque Style Marquetry Inlay Carved Flip-Down Secretary Display Cabinet
A practical and elegant addition to any office or living room, this cabinet contains a remar...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Baroque Secretaires
Materials
Glass, Wood
Rare French Marquetry and Gilt Bronze Secretaire with Architecture Scenes
Located in London, GB
A Truly Magnificent 19th century Secre´taire a` Abattant by Maison Rogie´ of Paris After the original in the Wallace Collection, London, made in 1777 by Pierre-Antoine Foullet
Con...
Category
19th Century French Louis XV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Carrara Marble, Bronze
Antique Genuine Swedish Escritoire, Original Faux Paint Country Secretary Desk
Located in Kramfors, SE
Genuine antique Swedish escritoire from the early 1800s. This escritoire, or secretary desk, is a genuine country furniture from northern Sweden made around 1820 to 1840. Made by han...
Category
Early 19th Century Swedish Country Antique Secretaires
Materials
Pine
Adams Style Mahogany Half Cylinder Secretary Writing Desk Hutch Curio 92"
Located in Dayton, OH
A very large and impressive vintage Adams style half cylinder secretary desk / hutch featuring a mahogany finish with upper bookcase curio cabinet with fretwork doors supported by a ...
Category
Late 20th Century Adam Style Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
Empire Drop Front Desk, Kopenhagen, 1820
Located in Belmont, MA
Empire drop front desk, Copenhagen 1810-20.
This unique Danish secretary desk is embellished with mahogany veneer. The lower part has three cur...
Category
1810s Danish Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
George Walton Style of a Small Arts & Crafts Oak Sideboard with Floral Carvings
Located in London, GB
A small Arts & Crafts oak sideboard in the style of George Walton.
With flaring cornice, four small upper cupboards the central pair with arched doors and a small work area in front,...
Category
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Secretaires
Materials
Oak
Biedermeier secretary, Northern Europe, circa 1860.
Located in Chorzów, PL
Biedermeier secretary, Northern Europe, circa 1860.
Very good condition, after professional renovation, a piece of furniture finished in polish.
Wood: mahogany
dimensions: height:...
Category
1860s Swedish Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
19th Century French Bureau de Dame Napoleon III Ladies Writing Desk
Located in Milano, MI
A late 19th century Napoleon III bronze-mounted mahogany bureau à cylinder, an elegant French Bureau de Dame or Bonheur du Jour, a ladies writing desk with cartonnier which opens up ...
Category
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
Gustavian Style 1840s Gray Painted Drop Front Secretary with Graduated Drawers
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Swedish Gustavian style drop front secretary from circa 1840 with gray painted finish, writing area and three graduated drawers. This Swedish Gustavian style drop-front secretary, ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Swedish Gustavian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
19th Century Fine Biedermeier Walnut Secretaire. Vienna, c. 1825.
Located in Vienna, AT
Hello,
This elegant and truly exceptional walnut Viennese Biedermeier Secretaire was made in Vienna circa 1825.
The Secretaire is an example of beautiful, rare and refined design an...
Category
Early 19th Century Austrian Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mirror, Maple, Walnut
Midcentury Danish vintage Secretary /Make up by Dyrlund, 1960s
By Dyrlund
Located in Gaggenau, DE
Midcentury Danish vintage Secretary by Dyrlund, 1960s
Secretary of Dyrlund in teak. 4 drawers. Pulling out the first drawer opens the writing desk. Under the writing tablet is a mi...
Category
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Teak
Antique French Mahogany Drop Front Brass Gallery Secretary Writing Desk 40"
Located in Dayton, OH
Antique French Victorian secretary / library writing desk. Made of mahogany featuring drop front door inlaid with floral mother of pearl and shield motif, which opens to writing surf...
Category
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
French 19th Century Empire Secrétaire à Abattant
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A statley 19th century mahogany secre´taire a` abattant from France, circa 1810. This desk has an exceptional charcoal marble top resting above a single drawer disguised into the apron. Just below the top drawer, the front of the desk folds forward to reveal a work area inset with vibrant red leather detailed with gold tooling. The leather is in great antique condition making this a comfortable place to work. When open, you can see the theatre is equipped with five drawers and a large, arched top cubby flanked with column forms. With the desk down the maximum depth is 32”; the writing surface is 28-½” heigh. The desk front...
Category
19th Century French Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Marble, Brass
French Painted Secretary Desk with Fallfront, Mid 19th century
Located in South Salem, NY
This stunning Mid-19th-century French Painted Secretary Desk has a captivating fall-front design. This piece showcases an elegant white exteri...
Category
Late 19th Century French French Provincial Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Danish Modern Secretary Desk or Cabinet
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Danish Modern Secretary Desk with Pull out shelf. Small drawers on top and big drawers on bottom. Height of pull out desk is 29h
Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Materials
Wood
20th Century Inlaid Rosewood Maple Walnut Cherry Wood French Bureau Desk, 1960s
Located in Vicoforte, Piedmont
French bureau from the mid-20th century. Moved and rounded inlaid furniture with floral decorations in rosewood, maple, walnut, cherry and fruitwood. Bureau equipped with two externa...
Category
1960s French Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood, Maple, Nutwood
Aesthetic Movement Bonheur du Jour Secretary Desk Cabinet
Located in Pasadena, TX
Bonheur du Jour secretary desk cabinet,
circa late 1880s.
Dark walnut with finial accents and turned legs. The hinged writing surface opens to...
Category
Late 19th Century North American Aesthetic Movement Antique Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
French Empire Secretaire À Abattant With Faux Book Front
Located in Charlottesville, VA
Tall French Empire secretaire à abattant featuring a drop-front writing surface and faux book facade. Crafted with rich mahogany ve...
Category
Early 20th Century French Secretaires
Materials
Stone
Arne Vodder Scandinavian Danish Modern Teak Desk Vanity Table Top Organizer
By Arne Vodder
Located in Wayne, NJ
Wonderful aged teak three-drawer organizer. Beautifully crafted, finished on all sides. This can also be for multiple purposes such as used as a desktop organizer , jewelry , Makeup...
Category
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Teak
Mid-Century Modern Vintage Walnut Ash Desk Bureau Secretary, 1950s, Italy
Located in Vienna, AT
Mid-Century Modern vintage secretary desk bureau Ico Parisi style from walnut and ash veneers designed and manufactured 1950s Italy.
The beauti...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Materials
Ash, Walnut
Early 19th Century Georgian Style Walnut and Burr Secretary Desk or Vanity
Located in Miami, FL
Early 19th century Georgian style walnut and burr secretary desk, vanity or chest with four drawers and two interior drawers in the desk.
Category
Early 20th Century English Georgian Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
Mid Century Modern Vintage Freestanding Wall Unit Desk in Walnut, circa 1960s
Located in Troy, MI
Vintage Mid Century Modern Freestanding Wall Unit Desk
Great modernist secretary wall unit circa 1960s
Freestanding with adjustable upper drop fr...
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
Sublime Early 19th Century French Secrétaire
Located in Stockbridge, GA
Sublime early 19th century French secrétaire.
Category
Early 19th Century French Restauration Antique Secretaires
Materials
Leather, Walnut
Barbarella Writing Desk / Secretary by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, 1966/1985
Located in Kansas City, MO
Ettore Sottsass Barbarella cabinet for Poltronova, Italy. Designed in 1966, produced in 1985. The cabinet features three drawers over a drop-front ...
Category
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
19th Century English Chinoiserie Ladies Secretaire Writing Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Extraordinary 19th century English ladies secretaire desk or writing table. The two part desk was made in the Chinoiserie revival period of Europe ...
Category
19th Century English Chinoiserie Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Rosewood Circassian Walnut Inlaid Beveled Glass French Louis XV Secretary Desk
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
From Slatoff Estate. Rosewood with exotic veneer. Vitrine top with marble top. Rouge marble gallery. Beveled glass doors. Brass accents and foot caps. 58" h x 32 1/2" w x 19 5/8" d.
...
Category
Early 1900s French Louis XV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Griotte Marble, Bronze
Cees Braakman for Pastoe "P5" Jacaranda Wood Secretaire
By Pastoe, Cees Braakman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cees Braakman for Pastoe Jacaranda wood secretaire with drop down desk or dry bar and light with original wiring. Lightly refinished exterior ...
Category
1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Metal
Early 19th Century German or Danish Secretaire, Mahogany, Biedermeier, c. 1815
Located in Greven, DE
Small antique Biedermeier secretary
Schleswig-Holstein
Mahogany and others
Biedermeier around 1815
Dimensions: H x W x D: 137 x 88 x 45 cm
Description:
Piece of furniture standing...
Category
1810s German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Birch, Mahogany, Maple
Secretaire "a Abbatant" Napoleon III Empire, 19th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Title: Secretaire "a Abbatant"
Date/Period: 19th century
Dimension: 147cm x 105cm x 51cm.
Material: Mahogany wood
Additional Information: Secretaire "a Abbatant" French, Empire Style...
Category
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Mid Century Maurice Villency Danish Teak Drop Down Desk
Located in New York, NY
Mid Century Maurice Villency Danish Teak Drop Down Desk. In good vintage condition. A few minor issues. A new key has been fabricated for locking mechanism and works but is finicky. ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Materials
Teak
1930s Rockford Furniture Jacobean Style Handcrafted Secretary Desk
Located in Germantown, MD
A Jacobean-style slant front Hancrafted and handcarved by the renowned Rockford Chair and Furniture Company. Founded in 1876 by Swedish settlers, the company has a rich heritage of f...
Category
Early 20th Century Jacobean Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Empire Secretary Desk, France 19th century
Located in Belmont, MA
French Empire Secretary Desk, 19th Century – Mahogany Veneer, Marble Top, Bronze Details
This stunning 19th-century French Empire secretary desk...
Category
1810s French Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Marble
1940's French Art Deco Exotic Rosewood Secretary Cabinet
Located in Opa Locka, FL
c1940's French Art Deco Exotic Rosewood Secretary Cabinet. Top glass enclosed display area. Interior with special sections for desk needs. Rare form.
Category
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
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...
Category
19th Century American Eastlake Antique Secretaires
Materials
Burl, Walnut
Very Fine Custom c1940s Bubble Glass Drop Front Butlers Desk Break Front MINT
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Very Fine Custom c1940s Bubble Glass Drop Front Butlers Desk Break Front MINT.
Phenomenal quality piece of furniture, fine detail low key inlay decorations.
Category
20th Century American Federal Secretaires
Materials
Leather, Glass, Mahogany
Empire or Biedermeier Secretary Mahogany, 1815
Located in Berlin, DE
Very well preserved conical secretary with stepped head
Front with multiply mirrored pyramid mahogany
entire surface with original shellac hand polish
high-quality cabinet part with thread intarsia and leg buttons
very elaborate workmanship and rare furniture...
Category
19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
19th Century Transforming Table, Ladies Desk, Secretaire, Walnut, France ca 1860
Located in Greven, DE
Small antique secretary, lady's desk
France
Walnut
around 1860
Dimensions: H x W x D: 90 x 59 x 53 cm
Description:
Quite extraordinary small piece of transforming furniture...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Louis XV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
20th Century Vienna Biedermeier Style Secretaire after Johann Härle
By Johann Härle
Located in Berlin, DE
Aristocratic secretaire of Vienna Biedermeier after Johann Härle, 1813.
Highly valuable bird’s-eye maple root veneer on solid pinewood, partially ebonized, crested with classicist m...
Category
20th Century Biedermeier Secretaires
Materials
Wood, Pine, Birdseye Maple
Raymond Lowey for Mengel Mid Century Secretary Desk c.1950’s
Located in Lutz, FL
Mid Century Modern Mengel drop front secretary desk by designed by Raymond Loewy c.1950’s. Original two tone finish in cerused oak with charcoal gray drawer fronts, and black iron ha...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Materials
Iron
Italian Venetian Chinoiserie and Creme Paint Decorated Secretary Desk
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This is a rare form of Louis XV style Italian-made secretary desk with chinoiserie painted cranes and various scenes in gold raised detail. The desk is in good condition and will sho...
Category
1950s Italian Louis XV Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
Biedermeier Secretary Desk, Mid-19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Secretary desk with exquisite ash veneer and a three-drawer commode base. Behind the leather-covered writing surface lies a spacious arched compartment, complemented by six small dra...
Category
Mid-19th Century Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
19th Century German Biedermeier Veneered Mahogany Cabinet - Antique Secretary
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An early 19th Century, antique German Biedermeier two-part cabinet with a writing flap made of hand crafted shellac polished, partly veneered Mahogany, in good condition. The bottom part of the secretary is composed with two large drawers, standing on four wide wooden legs. The inside consists five drawers and two compartments, particularized by polished brass hardware, columns. The top part of the buffet is composed with one large drawer and two small drawers, the center is consisting a storage compartment with an arched...
Category
Mid-19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Metal, Brass
Antique Baroque Style Top Desk / Secretary Fully Inlaid
Located in Berlin, DE
With rich marquetry in this version, it is very rare to find such a similar piece of furniture. The cupboard stands on paw feet, high-quality maceteria inlays on all sides, i.e. inla...
Category
20th Century German Biedermeier Secretaires
Materials
Wood
19th Century Biedermeier Nutwood Secretary Desk/ Secretaire, Austria ca. 1820/25
Located in Lichtenberg, AT
Splendid early 19th century Biedermeier secretaire/ secretary desk from the renowed period in Vienna/ Austria around 1820/25. A spectacular, early example of a Biedermeier secretary which has been venereed with finest mirror-matched nutwood, showing an extraordinary grain - just see how elegantly the grain pattern runs down from the top to the base without any visible interuption. This perfect sized Biedermeier secretaire impresses with its cambered worked doors, a drawer on the top and a fold-down writing surface. Influenced by the previous empire epoch, this superb, antique secretary is adorned by two beautifully worked full columns. When you fold down the lockable writing surface, the amazing designed interior opens up to the viewer´s eye: 9 small drawers and another large one on top, architecturally structured with ebonized column decoration and the still original mirror (unfortunately cracked - see picture#18) in the back. Artfully worked brass applications with lion heads finalize the spectacular look. Traditionally hand polished with ruby shellac, which gives the surface this lovely slight red brown tone, this breathtaking early Biedermeier secretary...
Category
Early 19th Century Austrian Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Biedermeier Fall Top Secretaire, Berlin 1820 with Exquisite Interior
Located in Belmont, MA
Outstanding Biedermeier fall top secretaire, Berlin 1820, mahogany veneer with ebonized details. The interior has one central compartment surrounded by 8 s...
Category
1820s German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
English Mahogany Bureau Bookcase, 19th Century
Located in Dallas, TX
English mahogany bureau bookcase, having broken arch pediment above dentil molded cornice, the upper cabinet with hexagon glass mullion doors, the lower cabinet with fall front secre...
Category
Early 19th Century English Antique Secretaires
Materials
Blown Glass, Mahogany
Antique, New and Vintage Secretaires
Your antique, new or vintage secretary desk has become the (chic) saving grace of the "new normal" at home.
Simply put, a secretary desk is a multifunctional piece of furniture with a hinged writing surface that folds open or drops down. When the leaf is folded out, small inner storage compartments — pigeonholes, cubbies, recesses or drawers — are revealed.
Traditionally, a secretary is composed of two parts — a chest of drawers on the bottom and a cabinet with shelves on the top. Taking its name from the French word for the piece, secrétaire, the secretary desk dates back to the 18th century, when Paris-based cabinetmaker Jean-François Oeben, known for his exquisite marquetry and clever mechanical desks, is thought to have invented the secrétaire à abbattant, or drop-leaf desk.
While the defining drop-down feature of the secretary desk has remained constant, the materials used, as well as its configuration, size and style have evolved over time.
At first, secretaries were typically made from exotic woods, like rosewood, tulipwood and kingwood; later, hardwoods like cherry, maple, oak and mahogany were more common. The desks also became lighter, with space carved out of the lower half for the writer’s feet or with drawers replaced by legs — making them more table-like.
When open, the secretary is a dynamic, versatile Wunderkammer. When closed, it’s a sophisticated, space-saving piece of furniture.
“A fine secretary with a good provenance adds stature and credence to its owner — it is a cornerstone piece,” says antiques dealer Stanley Weiss, who specializes in 18th- and 19th-century English and American furniture. “In this disposable world, fine furniture is always passed on and speaks to who its owner is.”
No matter what style or period you choose, and no matter how you decide to use it, the timeless, flexible secretary desk is bound to become an indispensable part of your daily routine.
Browse a range of antique and vintage secretary desks on 1stDibs, including mid-century modern secretaires, Georgian secretaires and others.