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Secretaires For Sale
Period: 1940s
Period: 1920s
Early French Art Deco Secretaire Desk with Marquetry and Inlays
Located in Ulm, DE
Secretary
Wooden body, hand-polished shellac
probably stained ash
elaborate inlays and marquetry
freshly mirrored inside
Early Art Déco, France around 1925
Dimensions:
Width: 70 c...
Category
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Italian Mid-Century Secretary Palisander Wood with Inlays by Paolo Buffa 1940s
Located in Salzburg, AT
Exceptional secretary by Paolo Buffa from the late 1940s in Italy.
The object is a real gem due to its distinctive size as well as the fineness of its execution.
The look is clea...
Category
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Burl, Bog Wood, Oak, Maple, Boxwood, Birch, Glass, Palisander
Italian Art Deco Aquamarine Shagreen Secretaire, Attr. to Borsani, 1940s
Located in Meda, MB
This Art Deco secretaire was produced in Italy in the 1940s and is attributable to Osvaldo Borsani. It is completely in an exotic wood with a black lacquered top and base. The centra...
Category
1940s Italian Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Metal
Bruno Mathsson reading stand, Karl Mathsson 40's Sweden modernist collector
Located in Forest, BE
Table de lecture en bois et acier nickelé. Daté du début des années 1940. La tablette en bois a été restaurée mais la patine du piétement reste non touché et dans son état le plus proche de l'origine. Ajustable en hauteu. Il y à de beaux détails en laiton. Produite dans les ateliers de son père Karl Mathsson...
Category
1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Steel, Nickel
Burl Walnut Art Deco Cabinet
Located in Dronten, NL
Period Dutch Art Deco secretary in wonderful burl walnut veneer in symmetrical pattern.
Cut-glass pane, drop front desk, ebony wood door handles.
Comes with three beautiful original ...
Category
1920s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Cut Glass, Ebony, Burl
Mobile archivio italiano, legno di noce e dettagli in ottone, modernariato 1940
Located in MIlano, IT
Mobile archivio da ufficio in legno di noce con doppia colonna di cassetti con dettagli in ottone.
1940 ca.
Buone condizioni.
Misure in cm 91,5x40x184h
Favoloso mobile archivio inter...
Category
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
1940's Traditional Burl Wood Secretary/ Desk
Located in Opa Locka, FL
Beautiful Grand Scale 1940's Traditional style Burl Wood Secretary/ Writing Desk.
This secretary is in very good condition. Miami Beach acquisition.
Category
1940s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Paolo Buffa Italian Mid-Century Brass Inlaid Secretary
Located in Atlanta, GA
Paolo Buffa, Secretary, Italy c. 1948, Brass Intarsia by Giovanni Gariboldi, Manufactured by Marelli e Colico, Cantù.
An exquisite and collectible Mid-Century secretary by esteemed ...
Category
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Italian Art Deco Maple Briar, Gold Leaf and Black Lacquered Secretaire, 1940s
Located in Meda, MB
This Art Deco secrétaire was produced in Italy in the 1940s.
It is completely made of an elegant maple briar, with black lacquered and gold leafed details.
In particular, some of t...
Category
1940s Italian Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Gold Leaf
Secretary Cabinet, 1920s
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
This cabinet dates from circa 1920, produced in Germany. With 12 drawers and a door with a shelf behind it in the lower part. In the upper part a display case and a flap. The cabinet...
Category
1920s German Industrial Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Glass, Oak, Pine, Plywood
Vintage Mahogany Secretary with Flip Down Desk and Storage
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Vintage wood tall secretary having pretty flat front with carved wood decoration and urn shape in the center. Lovely grain and particularly narrow depth. Turned legs have a lower tie...
Category
1940s American Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
1930s Art Deco Secretary Cabinet
Located in Pasadena, TX
1930s Art Deco secretary cabinet.
Exquisite Art Deco display cabinet in walnut with glass front doors featuring fretwork design. The center features...
Category
1940s European Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
Extraordinary Colorful Rococo Style Painted Secretary Cabinet with Chair
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Custom painted in a striking blue exterior with an electric and contrasting green interior and having a strong form, ornate gilt hinges and pulls, escutcheons (with keys) and Top fin...
Category
1940s Rococo Revival Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Metal
Antique Oak Secretary Desk, Belgium, circa 1920
Located in Chorzów, PL
Antique secretary from the beginning of the 20th century.
Made of oak wood.
Very good condition.
Dimensions: height 107 cm / width 100 cm / depth 47 cm.
Category
1920s Belgian Louis Philippe Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Oak
Mid Century Bentwood Desk by Paul Goldman for Plymold 1946
By Paul Goldman
Located in Oakland, CA
Streamlined midcentury desk of Bentwood construction by designer Paul Goldman for Plymold. This unique and beautiful treatment of wood furniture was developed by Goldman, a master bo...
Category
1940s North American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Bentwood
Early French Art Deco Desk in Nutwood, circa 1925
Located in Ulm, DE
Small desk with fluting
Walnut, shellac hand polished
Early Art Deco, France around 1925
Dimensions:
Width: 90 cm
height: 72 cm
Depth: 55 cm.
Category
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Nutwood
Secretary Desk, Northern Europe, circa 1920, After Renovation
Located in Chorzów, PL
Secretary desk, Northern Europe, circa 1920
Very good condition, after professional renovation.
Dimensions: height: 101 cm, width: 94 cm, depth: 52 cm.
Category
1920s Scandinavian French Provincial Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
Italian Designer, Desk, Teak, Brass, Italy, 1940s
Located in High Point, NC
A teak and brass desk or secretaire designed and produced by an Italian Designer, Italy, 1940s.
Category
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Antique Oak Secretary Desk, Sweden, circa 1920
Located in Chorzów, PL
Antique secretary from the beginning of the 20th century.
Made of oak wood.
Very good condition.
Dimensions: Height 111 cm / width 88 cm / depth. 52 cm.
Category
1920s Swedish Chippendale Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Oak
Chinoiserie Cabinet by Giambattista Gianotti, Unique piece
Located in Milano, IT
Rare chinoiserie cabinet with polychrome decorations made in Giambattista Gianotti's Officine Riunite d'Arte Decorativa (Room 116) for the II Biennial - Lombard Section - Room with Furniture and Stained Glass Windows of the Officine Riunite d'Arte Decorativa. Unique Exemplar.
The extraordinary piece of furniture is dated 1925. The piece of furniture is an extraordinary example of great cabinet making and woodworking. In fact, these special features are denoted by the manic inlays inserted in the cabinet. The inlays are perfect even in its smallest elements. Its depictions are mainly ornaments and floral elements. These inlays are found on the crown of the cabinet, on the sides, and on the legs. The cabinet opens via two lockable doors. Inside we find great magic! We are greeted by numerous walnut wood drawers of various sizes that can be opened with wooden knobs. Each wooden door is finely carved with ornaments and natural elements such as flowers and birds. The two main doors inside are also finely carved. Let's call it a chinoiserie piece of furniture because of this element that contradicts it: the numerous cabinets inserted inside, where opening this piece of furniture looks like opening a secret chest...
Category
1920s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Unique Art Deco Home Office Bureau, Czechoslovakia, 1920s
Located in Zohor, SK
Beautiful Art Deco bureau / sideboard produced in solid wood with the most beautiful details. Produced in Czechoslovakia in 1920s. The item has an opening top board with metal fixers...
Category
1920s Czech Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Oak, Walnut
Louis XV Style Carved Oak Drop Front Two Drawers Secretary Bureau, 1920s
Located in Barntrup, DE
Louis XV Style carved oak drop front secretary or bureau or writing desk, two drawers with shaped bronze handles, made in France in the 1920s....
Category
1920s French Louis XV Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
Fine Quality French Mahogany Bronze Mounted Secretary Desk Bookcase Top
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This is an absolutely gorgeous and superb quality diminutive secretary desk from France. The desk features a bookcase top with adjustable shelf and a marble top and trimmed in bronze...
Category
1940s French Directoire Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Carrara Marble, Bronze
"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...
Category
1920s Swedish Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Birch
Gilbert Rohde 'Paldao Group' Modular Bookcase System
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Rare 3-piece storage system, one of the earliest modular furniture designs, veneered in exotic Paldao burl door-fronts and figured Paldao sides. The dark stain finish is original and beautiful, with a rich rosewood color. The drop-down secretary door is set with an elegantly cast brass knob, and opens to a hidden desk...
Category
1940s American Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Secretaire in Rosewood Art Nouveau Style, 1940s
Located in Montelabbate, PU
Furniture made of rosewood inlaid with precious briarwood and maple. The furniture is of high bourgeois taste. The contrast of the rigid geometric lines of the body of the furniture that enclose art-nouveau inlays...
Category
1940s Italian Art Nouveau Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Maple, Rosewood, Burl
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,...
Category
1920s Swedish Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Birch
Italian Olive Burl Wood Bombe Secretary Vanity with Display Top & Matching Chair
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Fabulous Italian bombe drop front secretary cabinet in olive wood with the matching chair. Bookcase top with Two drawers with brass hardware and exquisite cabriole legs. Expert craft...
Category
1940s Italian Baroque Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
1940's, Chinoiserie Secretary
Located in Newport Beach, CA
A petite, two part, hand-painted, lacquered, fully finished, drop front Chinoiserie bureau secrétaire from Spain. The interior of the two-door top is wallpapered in faux bamboo fretw...
Category
1940s Spanish Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood, Lacquer
1940's Italian Secretaire with Reverse Painted Glass
Located in Hanover, MA
Golden birch veneered drop front secretary desk with three drawers and reverse painted glass panel of stylized Egyptian women and a chariot...
Category
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Glass, Birch
Unique Czech Art Deco Secretary/Writing Desk, Rosewood 1920-1929
Located in Horomerice, CZ
Art Deco sideboard and secretary made out of rosewood
Material: Rosewood
Completely restored, Shellac polish.
Period: 1920-1929
Source: Czechia.
Category
1920s Czech Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood, Rosewood, Lacquer
Gilbert Rohde Paldao Secretary Display Case for Herman Miller
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Bookcase with drop-front secretary desk and storage drawers in paldao wood. Glass dividers separate storage compartments, and cork-lined back. Retains Herman Miller tag. Great origin...
Category
1940s American Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Paldao
20th Century Burl Walnut Bombe Secretary Bookcase with Etched Glass Doors
Located in Savannah, GA
Italian Bombe secretaire with a distinct burl walnut grain. Highlights include the original wrought iron hinges, a hand carved decorative crown and etched mirrored panels featuring a...
Category
1920s Italian Louis XV Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Walnut, Burl, Mirror
Charles Spooner Arts & Crafts Oak secretaire Cabinet with Serpentine Stretchers
By Charles Spooner
Located in London, GB
Charles Sydney Spooner, probably made by J H Brandt.
A rare oak secretaire cabinet on stand, with quarter veneered panels to the doors and drawers with black and green diamond shaped handles. The doors open to reveal adjustable shelves. The sides and lower stand are all made from solid quarter sawn oak with beautiful figuring. The slightly graduated mouldings to the waist frame the tidy little writing area. Standing on squashed ball feet, united with serpentine entwined stretchers.
This is an oak variation of the cabinet Charles Spooner exhibited at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in 1910. One can see that both cabinets are essentially the same design, one with drawers one with a pull down writing area. Both have quartered veneered panels to the doors, the Mahogany one with applied moulded decoration to the doors.
See : illustration below from : Arts and Crafts Furniture by John Andrews.
See also : Charles Spooner Arts and Crafts Architect, page 209 illustration 10:28.
: Fine Art Society for a Coromandel variation and Puritan Values : Important Furniture Page 1, for a larger four door lacquered panelled variation.
Charles Spooner is noted as one of the most influential people and also credited as one of the fathers of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Born at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington (London), Spooner was the second of 5 children of Charles Spooner and Sarah Frances Trinder, who lived at Brook Green, Hammersmith. Spooner became an architect and an instructor of furniture design at the London County Council's Central School of Arts and Crafts. He was a pupil and then assistant of Sir A W Blomfield and in 1890 won the RIBA’s Soane Medallion (Proc RIBA). He specialised in smaller churches and houses turning out some beautiful and complete buildings. He was influenced by E W Godwin and contemporary American architects such as H H Richardson. He was a member of the Society and Protection of Ancient Buildings and the Art Workers Guild, he worked in the tradition of William Morris, teaching...
Category
1920s English Arts and Crafts Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Oak
Italian mid-century wood archive stand, 1940s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian mid-century wood archive stand, 1940s
Walnut archive dresser from forties, made in Italy. 28 drawers, with brass handles, were used to manage months and months of job, and st...
Category
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Mid-Century Modern Secretary Cabinet, Walnut, Flap Door, Secret Drawer - France
Located in Girona, ES
Walnut secretaire cabinet with a flap door and a secret drawer, French polish.
France, circa 1940.
Category
1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
1940s Osvaldo Borsani Secretaire
Located in Hanover, MA
Rare and very unusual piece of Italian modern design.
Vintage 1940s Italian bow-fronted secretary in walnut with seven drawers with brass ring pulls, attributed to Osvaldo Borsani.
T...
Category
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Walnut, Goatskin
Grosfeld House Secretary Bookcase 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 sunbu...
Category
1940s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Maison Jansen French Louis XVI Style Ebonized Secretary Desk
Located in New York, 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
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
Grosfeld House Chest or Secretary, 1940s
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
An elegant chest of drawers with pull-out desk drawer by Grosfeld House.
Category
1940s American Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
1940s French Abatant with Original Vellum Drop Front
Located in Dallas, TX
1940s French abatant with original vellum drop front facing. Faux volumes of books create a decorative door facing with key lock. Bronze scroll detail on base. Beautiful chevron vene...
Category
1940s French Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
French Art Deco Secretary Attributed to René Prou
By René Prou
Located in Paris, FR
Beautiful French sycamore veneer secretary framed with gilded brass details, the fall front decorated with the original cafe au lait coloured leather, inside is the drawer and elegan...
Category
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Sycamore
1920 Walnut Secretaire with 16 Drawers and Leather Desk
Located in Weiningen, CH
1920 walnut secretaire with 16 drawers and leather desk, comes in two parts completely restored with shellac.
Category
1920s Swiss Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
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
Ramsay French Mid-Century Dark Green Lacquered Secretary
Located in New York, NY
French Mid-Century (1940s) dark green lacquered drop front secretary with bronze dore rope design and trim (signed RAMSAY )
Category
1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
Liberty Walnut Wood and Olive Root Italian Secretaire, 1920s
Located in Puglia, Puglia
This secretaire walnut wood with olive root inlays dates back to the Liberty period, 1920s.
Category
1920s Italian Art Nouveau Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Olive, Walnut
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.
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