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Secretaires For Sale
Period: 19th Century
Period: 1940s
Georgian English Mahogany Commode Secretaire, 1816
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Important English commode secretary from the Georgian period with three large drawers. The upper part simulating two drawers is made of a flap which forms the work table covered with...
Category
1810s English Georgian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Directoire Style Desk with Cylinder Top, France, 19th Century
Located in Belmont, MA
Directoire style desk with cylinder top, France 19th century
Mahogany veneer with satinwood inlays. This elegant little desk is perfect for a small working space. The writing top fo...
Category
1860s French Directoire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany, Satinwood
Very Fine Antique Secretary Bookcase with Brass Eagle Crest
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Well constructed with fine mahogany veneer with Federal style brass eagle finial on a pedestal. The carved cornice with urn form finials over a carv...
Category
Late 19th Century Federal Antique Secretaires
Materials
Leather, Glass, Mahogany
1940s lacquered wood writing desk attributed to René Drouet French art deco
By René Drouet
Located in Ternay, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Rare '40s secrétaire attributed to French designer René Drouet. Structure in lacquered solid wood with attractive floral decoration on the top door (original paint, gilding and lacqu...
Category
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Exquisite 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Inlaid Marquetry Bureau a Cylindre
Located in Long Island City, NY
An Exquisite Late 19th Century Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Inlaid Marquetry and Parquetry Bureau a Cylindre
The stepped rectangular top with pierced three quarter gallery ab...
Category
Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze, Ormolu
A fine 19th c Biedermeier birch secretary. Ebonized details and gilt bronze
Located in Dallas, TX
A very fine Biedermeier period drop front secretary. Fine Empire gilt bronze details . Ebonized details . Beautiful walnut and birch woods
Category
Early 19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Swedish Country Folk Art Writing Bureau
Located in Kramfors, SE
Country home writing bureau in folk art from northern Sweden. The bureau is from around 1820 to 1830 and has a writing desk with interior drawers with brass drawer pulls. Underneath ...
Category
Early 19th Century Swedish Country Antique Secretaires
Materials
Pine
19th Century French Rococo Revival Marquetry Secretaire a Abattant
Located in London, GB
Dating from around 1850, this is a wonderful antique French Rococo Revival Secretaire a Abattant featuring ormolu mounted mahogany, gonzalo alves and marquetry.
A Secretaire a abatt...
Category
1850s French Rococo Revival Antique Secretaires
Materials
Marble, Ormolu
19th Century Louis XV Style French Marquetry and Bronze Ladies Secretaire Chest
Located in Darmstadt, DE
"Secrétaire à abattant" - a so called ladies secretaire from the time around 1870-1890 in the style of Louis XV. Fruitwooad and nutwood as well as pr...
Category
19th Century French Louis XV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Marble, Bronze
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
Early 19th Century American Tigerwood Maple Secretaire
Located in Southampton, NY
This Early 19th Century American Tigerwood Maple Secretaire. The desk features a drop-front green felted writing surface above a chest of three width-wide drawers below. A pair of h...
Category
Early 19th Century American Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Georgian Oak Secretary
Located in Sheffield, MA
Very handsome Georgian lowland oak secretary with walnut trim.
Category
Early 19th Century English Georgian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Oak, Walnut
Henri 2 Cabinet or Secretaire in Sculpted Oak Renaissance Style, 19th Century
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Rare cabinet desk Henri II style in carved oak. The base is made up of two boxes each with a drawer and a door carved and framed by columns. On the wooden top rests the cabinet treat...
Category
1870s French Renaissance Revival Antique Secretaires
Materials
Oak
19thc French Painted Secretary
Located in New Orleans, LA
Beautiful 19thc Robin’s egg blue secretary/fall front desk.
Category
Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
American Victorian Walnut Secretary Glass Front Cabinet
Located in Queens, NY
American Victorian two-piece walnut secretary cabinet with a base having a drawer whose front folds down to create a desktop with interior drawers and green felt over two doors with ...
Category
Late 19th Century American Victorian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Glass, Wood, Walnut
A fine 19th century Biedermeier satinwood birch and ebony secretary
Located in Dallas, TX
A very fine 19th century Biedermeier satinwood and Birch secretary . Ebony and fine quality inlayed woods .
Category
Early 19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Birch, Ebony, Satinwood
Chinese Chippendale Style English Bamboo Slanted Lift-Top Secretary Desk
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning Hand Crafted English Chinese Chippendale Bamboo Secretary.
This handsome and special Secretary has two top facing doors and a Middle "cubby Hole" opening for Books, small decorative pieces, etc., The tilt top Desk...
Category
19th Century English Chinese Chippendale Antique Secretaires
Materials
Leather, Bamboo, Wood, Maple
Rustic German Oak & Horn Cabinet
Located in Queens, NY
Rustic German (19th Century) oak cabinet with horn trim & carved medallions with flip seat bench base and upper section with 2 large stained glass doors and...
Category
19th Century German Black Forest Antique Secretaires
Materials
Oak, Horn, Stained Glass
19th Century German Black Forest Chip-Carved Suite Desk with Drawer and Chair
Located in Vero Beach, FL
19th century German black forest chip-carved suite desk with drawer and chair.
Impressive and extremely rare Black Forest desk and chair. The rectangul...
Category
19th Century German Black Forest Antique Secretaires
Materials
Pine
Early 19th Century Swedish Secretary
Located in Tetbury, Gloucestershire
Early 19th Century Swedish secretary.
Decorative carved pediment with two doors with reeded carving. With a fall front desk opening to a useful workspace and six drawers, below with...
Category
19th Century Swedish Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Arts and Crafts Pine Collectors Cabinet Filing Drawers
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Arts and Crafts Pine Collectors Cabinet Filing Drawers
The Cabinet is made in natural pine and has 12 Long Drawers, some of the drawers have the original dividers others are missing...
Category
1880s Arts and Crafts Antique Secretaires
Materials
Pine
Antique North German/Danish Empire Cylinder-Top Secretary with Bookcase, c. 1815
Located in Miami, FL
From the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany, once part of Denmark, a very handsome Empire secretary with bookcase in ash with inlays and marquetry silhouettes of neoclassical Roman images. Cylinder top opens to a pull-out desk which offers a felt-lined lectern or writing surface flanked by sliding storage compartments, as well as a series of small drawers and a central cabinet. Above desk, are three cupboards and below, there are three long drawers. Northern Germany or from the Danish Jutland region, circa 1815.
Note: Green baize on writing surface can be replaced with leather.
Measures: 46" wide x 21" deep x 83" high (With desk top open...
Category
Early 19th Century German Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Ash
Antique secretary from around 1880, Northern Europe.
Located in Chorzów, PL
Antique secretary from the end of the 19th century, Northern Europe.
Furniture in very good condition, after professional renovation.
Dimensions: height 159 cm / width 112 cm / dep...
Category
Late 19th Century Unknown Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
Antique mid 19th century Dutch honey color oak Biedermeier Secretary Desk
Located in Casteren, NL
Offered here is a stunning Dutch secretary desk in the Biedermeier style, crafted in the mid-19th century, around 1840. This exquisite piece is made entirely from the finest quality ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Dutch Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Oak, Bone
Dutch Rococo Style Bombe Burled Walnut Secretaire
Located in Chicago, IL
Dutch Rococo style burled walnut bombe front secretaire with carved ball and claw feet. Three drawers with cast brass pulls and cast brass detailed key ho...
Category
1940s Dutch Rococo Revival Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Fall-Front Desk in West Indies Mahogany, Attrib to Gustav Friederich von Hetsch
Located in Miami, FL
A very lovely secretary with serpentine front in beautiful West Indies/ Cuban mahogany attributable to Danish architect and painter, Gustav Friederich von Hetsch (1788-1864). A mirro...
Category
1830s Danish Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
French Louis Philippe Drop Front Secretary, late 19th Century
Located in South Salem, NY
Experience the timeless allure of a Louis Philippe secretary, resplendent in mahogany veneer and a black stone top. This exquisite piece of 19th-century craftsmanship boasts a drop f...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Empire Secretaire, Ebonized, Maple, Ink Painting, Brass, Gold, Vienna circa 1815
Located in Regensburg, DE
Fine neoclassical Empire or early Biedermeier Secretaire / Drop Front Desk from Vienna, Austria around 1810-15.
Ebonized veneer on oak.
Classicist gable cornice with surrounding gol...
Category
1810s Austrian Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass, Iron, Gold Leaf
Grosfeld House 1940s Secretary by Lorin Jackson
Located in Hanover, MA
Lorin Jackson for Grosfeld House 1940s cabinet bookcase in mahogany featuring a pull-out secretary with writing surface. Distinctive Grosfeld "Glassic" lucite ring pulls with sunburs...
Category
1940s American Hollywood Regency Vintage 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
Biedermeier Fall Top Desk, South German, 1820
Located in Belmont, MA
Classic Biedermeier fall top desk, South German, 1820, walnut veneer on the outside and mahogany veneer on the inside. It has a beautiful veneer grain. T...
Category
1820s German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany, Walnut
Neoclassical Style Mahogany Bronze Ormolu Mounted Secretaire
Located in Tarry Town, NY
19th century mahogany wood neoclassical style bronze ormolu mounted secretary. The secretary is raised on tapered feet mounted bronze ormolu. The center section is fitted with a pane...
Category
1820s French Neoclassical Antique Secretaires
Materials
Ormolu
John Widdicomb Walnut Aged Mirrored Tombstone Style Georgian Secretary
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This is a beautiful piece by the John Widdicomb of Michigan. The secretary is made of walnut and designed in the Georgian "Tombstone" style with the mirrored glass. The mirrors are a...
Category
1940s American Georgian Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Mirror, Walnut
Early 19th Century Stunning Swedish Gustavian Secretary
Located in San Angelo, TX
Here is a stunning early 19th century Swedish Gustavian secretary. This secretary features a newer, professionally applied white and gray e...
Category
Early 19th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
19th Century Biedermeier Column Secretary
Located in Berlin, DE
Cuba mahogany on pine tree. Architecturally arranged front. High-right body on padfoot feet. Fitted with three drawers of different sizes, the base drawer is curved. Straight writing...
Category
19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany, Wood
Tall Oak Secretary Bureau from Sweden, circa 1800-20
Located in Round Top, TX
This 7' tall oak secretary is an elegant statement piece crowned with an elaborate carved pediment over paneled cabinet doors.
The secretary has been given a professional custom laye...
Category
Early 19th Century Swedish Gustavian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Louis XV Style Bombe Secretary Inlaid Marquetry, Signed, Henry Dasson.
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Louis XV style bombe secretary inlaid marquetry, Ormolu Mounted. Signed Henry Dasson.
This 19th century bombe tulipwood secretary is built with superior craftsmanship and intricate ...
Category
19th Century French Louis XV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
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
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
Antique Dutch Floral Marquetry Inlaid Bombé Bureau, 19th Century
Located in Glasgow, GB
A 19th century Dutch marquetry inlaid bombé bureau profusely decorated all-over with marquetry depictions of flowers, urns and birds. With a rectangular flap opening to reveal a stri...
Category
19th Century Dutch Dutch Colonial Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
19th Century Antique English Display Secretaire, Mahogany
Located in Berlin, DE
19th Century Antique English Display Secretaire, Mahogany
Solid wood, manufactured to a high quality. The display cabinet has a pull-out function and can be used as a secretary than...
Category
19th Century English Antique Secretaires
Materials
Leather, Glass, Mahogany
Maison Jansen French Louis XVI Style Ebonized Secretary Desk
Located in Queens, NY
French Louis XVI-style (1940s) ebonized & bronze trim abbatant form desk with a drop front interior above 3 drawers and below a single drawer & a white marble top. (stamped: JANSEN)
Category
1940s French Louis XVI Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Antique Mahogany Secretary Chest
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A classic secretary chest finely crafted in mahogany. With a tall fall front top opening to a fitted interior with three small drawers above and below the serpentine cubby holes. The...
Category
19th Century Georgian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
English 19th Century Mahogany Secretary with Arched Pediment with Inlay
Located in Atlanta, GA
English 19th Century Mahogany Secretary with Arched Pediment with Inlay and Crossbanding
Category
19th Century English Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
Bonheur du Jour Secretaire in Lous-Seize-Style, Late 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Two-door Bonheur du Jour ladies' secretaire standing on tall, tapered legs with brass sabots, featuring a leather-covered writing surface in the lower drawer and compartments for ink...
Category
Late 19th Century Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
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
Patent Secretaire, France, 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Patent secretaire with mahogany veneered frame and columns with bronze capitals and bases.
Category
19th Century French Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
Rare Cabinet Chest of Drawers with Marble in the antique Biedermeier Style
Located in Berlin, DE
Maple root on solid conifers. Single-door cabinet in cylindrical shape. Corpus on corresponding frame. Gering marble top surface with light-grey grain. Partially ebonised. Interior s...
Category
19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Birdseye Maple
English Fall-Front Secretary Desk in Carved Oak, Circa 1800
Located in North Miami, FL
This piece just took our breath away - all the carved wood details and medallions are master craftsman quality. See all detail images to truly appreciate what an excellent antique pi...
Category
Early 19th Century English British Colonial Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Tall Walnut Cabinet with a Bureau Desk Compartment
Located in Dubai, AE
Tall walnut desk cabinet in Baroque style with gilded brass ornamentation. The upper glazed part reveals seven drawers, a leaf, and fifteen lockers, the flap revealing six drawers, s...
Category
19th Century German Baroque Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
19th Century Dutch Bleached Oak Secretaire
Located in Darmstadt, DE
The secretary made of Dutch oak from the 19th century rich in decorations consists of an upper and lower part. The upper part is hinged to the front. The flap sits on two pullouts th...
Category
19th Century Dutch Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
19th Century Biedermeier Secretary Desk in Maple Burl
By Biedermeier
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A refined 19th-century Biedermeier secretary desk, exquisitely crafted in maple burl and veneers, showcasing the elegance and simplicity characteristic of the Biedermeier period. The...
Category
19th Century German Antique Secretaires
Materials
Maple
Diminutive George III Walnut Block Front Slant Front Bureau Bookcase Cabinet
Located in Germantown, MD
A mid 19th century, fully professionally restored Diminutive George III Walnut And Block Front Slant Front secretary Bureau Bookcase Cabinet in great vintage condition. Restored throughout to the legs and inside drawers. Features top double door vitrine...
Category
Mid-19th Century American George III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Glass, Walnut
Late 19th Century Military Campaign Chest of Drawers, Secretary, Victorian, 1890
Located in Greven, DE
Antique ship's or captain's secretary, so-called Military Campaign Chest of Drawers
England
Mahogany, brass
Victorian around 1890
Dimensions: H x W x D: 135 x 92 x 52 cm
D...
Category
Late 19th Century English Late Victorian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Mahogany and Gilded Bronze Cylinder Desk, Empire Style, 19th Century
Located in Paris, FR
Large cylinder desk in mahogany and flamed mahogany veneer in the Empire style. This secretary with semi-cylindrical flap has eight drawers with pa...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Marble, Bronze
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
François Linke, Ormolu and Mahogany Secretaire After Riesener
Located in BARSAC, FR
Large Louis XVI style secretaire in mahogany marquetry in frames of light wood and ebony fillets, rich ornamentation of very finely chiseled gilt bronze such as flower garlands, inte...
Category
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Secretaires
Materials
Ormolu
Highly Carved Pine Secretary from Denmark, circa 1890
Located in Round Top, TX
Elaborate carving accentuate the entire surface of this striking pine secretary.
Enlarge photos to appreciate the extensive details, including vines, birds, leaves, trees, dentil mol...
Category
Late 19th Century Danish Anglo-Indian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Pine
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.