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Secretaires

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Secretaires For Sale
Style: Neoclassical
Style: Rococo
19th c. Swedish Rococo Secretary with Library in Original Paint
Located in Wichita, KS
A rare, early 19th century Swedish Rococo style slant-front secretary from Fryksdalen in Värmland with arched cornice, circa 1820. The paint has been hand-scraped down to the origina...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Wood, Paint

Hand-Painted & Decorated Front Neoclassical Style Breakfront Secretary Bookcase
Located in Tarry Town, NY
Introducing our exquisite 19th-century Neoclassical Style Hand-Painted & Decorated Front Breakfront/Secretary Bookcase, a stunning blend of artistry and functionality that adds a tou...
Category

1840s French Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Upholstery, Wood, Paint

18th C. Swedish Rococo Period Two-Part Painted Secretary with Library
Located in Santa Barbara, CA
Swedish secretary with library from the late Rococo period, circa 1780. The upper section has two library shelves with glass doors. The lower body is shaped to provide slant desk r...
Category

Late 18th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paint

Swedish Rocco Style Secratery Hutch
Located in Hollywood, FL
This is a Swedish Rocco Style Secratery Hutch . its been restored and repainted with Milk Paints "Oyster White"
Category

1970s Swedish Rococo Vintage Secretaires

Materials

Pine

Yellow Painted Oak Secretary, Denmark circa 1760-80
Located in Round Top, TX
This oak secretary reflects the grace and class of European styling in the early 1800's with four serpentine drawers and curved skirt. The traditional interior with 12 small drawers ...
Category

Late 18th Century Danish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Oak, Paint

Black Painted Rococo Secretary from Denmark circa 1760-1800
Located in Round Top, TX
This pine rococo secretary reflects the grace and class of Swedish styling in the early 1800's. The dramatic serpentine drawers with curvaceous front and carved skirt resting on cabr...
Category

Late 18th Century Danish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Wrought Iron

Swedish Rococo Style Chapeau de Gendarme 1820s Gray Painted Tall Secretary
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Swedish Rococo style tall secretary from circa 1820 with gray painted finish, chapeau de gendarme bonnet top, two doors, slant-front desk and four d...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Wood

Antique Italian Venetian Olive Burl Serpentine Secretary Slant Desk Bureau Chest
Located in Dayton, OH
An impressive antique Italian Venetian drop front secretary desk. Made from olive burl with a downswept lid and serpentine frame. Each panel shows off exquisite burl and shapely cro...
Category

Early 20th Century Neoclassical Secretaires

Materials

Olive, Burl

18th Century English Country Secretary in Hand-Carved Oak
Located in Dallas, TX
18th Century English Country Secretary in Hand-Carved Oak is a superlative example of the design, conceived as a piece that takes up no more space than a chest of drawers, but can se...
Category

1790s English Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Brass

18th Century French Lady's Secretaire Rosewood Veneer
Located in Münster, DE
Ornamental lady's secretary, France around 1770, rosewood veneered, leather overlay, brass edging and metal appliques, 3 drawers, shellac-wax polish height: 75 cm, width: 94,5 cm, d...
Category

1770s French Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Brass

Swedish Rococo Secretary Hutch
Located in Hollywood, FL
Desk 32 inches high, 43 inches open Upper cabinet 12 inches deep, bottom 25 inches deep.
Category

1780s Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Wood

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

Swedish Rococo Period Slant Front Desk Painted in Black with Distressed Finish
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Swedish Rococo period two-part slant-front desk from the 18th century, repainted in black with a blue interior and later iron hardware. Created in Sweden during the Rococo period, ...
Category

18th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Iron

Swedish 18th Century Rococo Secretary
Located in Tetbury, Gloucestershire
18th century Rococo cabinet. With a decorative carved pediment and two doors opening to storage. Below sits a fall front desk, opening to useful writing or computer space. With two further small storage drawers...
Category

18th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Wood

Secretary by Pierre Balmain, France, 1980
Located in Foggia, FG
Elegant secretaire designed by French original Pierre Balmain in the 1980s. The cabinet is easily transformable thanks to the flap door, which opens to provide space for a small desk...
Category

Early 2000s French American Classical Secretaires

Materials

Palisander

18th C. Swedish Rococo Period Writing Desk in Original Paint
Located in Wichita, KS
A period Rococo writing desk from the 18th century in original painted alder wood with period key hole fittings, circa 1760. There are two smaller drawers behind the writing surface ...
Category

18th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Bronze

Black & Gold Hitchcock Style Secretary Desk & Chair - 2pc Set
Located in Middletown, MD
A stunning vintage two-piece set, wonderfully preserved, to add a touch of historical charm to your home décor. Painted in rich black with gold accents featuring the classic Harvest stenciling, beautiful brass/porcelain drawer pulls displaying a painted scene on each, exuding the timeless Hitchcock style that was popularized in the late 1800’s and continues to be a highly sought staple of American décor...
Category

20th Century American American Classical Secretaires

Materials

Maple

Neoclassic Period French Commode W/Hidden Butler's Secretary & Writing Desk
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French Neoclassical commode, with hidden secretary and original hardware, from the turn of the 18th and 19th century. This antique commode from France gives the appearance of being a three drawer chest at first glance. However, discreetly hidden behind the upper "drawer" is in fact a fall-front, which opens to reveal a small writing desk with three open cubbies for organization within. The lower portion of the chest houses two full-sized drawers. The rectangular-shaped top has pronounced and rounded front corners, which carry through down the side posts and are flute-carved. Each drawer front is adorn with brass trim and retains the original brass (and really great) hardware; a pair of rectangular bail pulls with a beautiful Neoclassic escutcheon set at center. This commode is presented upon conical legs with exaggerated tops that canopy over their tapered feet. The rich fruitwood has a wonderful old patina throughout. Note that there have been some prior repairs to the top. This late 18th century French...
Category

Late 18th Century French Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Wood

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

Italian Rococo Oyster Burl Secretary Cabinet / Desk
Located in New York, NY
Italian Rococo secretary desk / cabinet with an upper door that folds down to reveal a writing surface and 5 small interior drawers, over three drawers with serpentine fronts and orn...
Category

18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Metal, Brass

Classic by Carpanelli Iris Secretaire
Located in Desio, IT
The structure is solid wood slabs, the curly swirl is plated with briar-wood, the top shaped and enriched by an inlay of leaves and also by the Carpanelli trademark which is hand set. Underneath the top there are its little drawers.
Category

2010s Italian Neoclassical Secretaires

Materials

Wood

Swedish Rococo Period 1790s Painted Two-Part Secretary with Slanted Front Desk
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Swedish Rococo period painted wood two-piece tall secretary from the late 18th century, with bonnet top, two doors, slanted front desk and drawers on bracket feet. Created in Swede...
Category

Late 18th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Wood

Venetian Rococo Style Walnut Secretary Lacquered by Ira Yeager
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic late 19th century Italian secretaire cabinet or bookcase made in the Venetian Rococo taste. Crafted from walnut the two-part case features a speckled lacquer finish centered by a cartouche shaped window with a painted bust by artist Ira Yeager (American 1938-2022). The bureau cabinet has a bombe shaped dresser base with a drop front diminutive writing table. The drop front has two storage drawers and a small pigeon hole storage above. Below the desk are two small drawers and two large storage drawers with rocaille patinated brass pulls. The dresser is supported by small cabriole legs with scrolled feet. The dresser is surmounted by a bookcase with a painted door depicting a nobleman holding a chicken. The painting is painted on board titled "Venezia" and signed by Yeager with a fictitious date of 1725. The door opens to a three-shelf bookcase. The case is topped with a pediment having a cartouche shaped window and corniced top. The entire secretary is speckled with a mustard yellow tone over a taupe background. This whimsical cabinet...
Category

19th Century Italian Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Brass

French Directoire Style Secrétaire in Cherry Wood, Orange & Dark Grey Lacquered
Located in Landivy, FR
This Secretary is a handmade modernized interpretation of the French Directoire style at the end of the 18th century. This period design is remarkable with its straight, classical an...
Category

2010s French Neoclassical Secretaires

Materials

Leather, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer

Impressive 18th Century Italian Venetian Walnut Secretaire
Located in San Francisco, CA
An impressive and unusually tall Venetian black walnut and burled walnut secretary. The mirrored top cabinet doors opening to reveal a multi dr...
Category

18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Mirror, Walnut

Small French Directoire Cherry Secretary, Cherry Stained, Cream Leather Pad
Located in Landivy, FR
This Secretary is a handmade modernized interpretation of the French Directoire style at the end of the 18th century. This period is remarkable with its straight, classical and timel...
Category

2010s French Neoclassical Secretaires

Materials

Leather, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer

Neoclassiacal Mahogany Secretaire with Clock, Probably Berlin around 1800
Located in Greding, DE
Secretaire with three drawers veneered in mahogany with enameled clock face in the tympanum field of the pedimented top with dentil frieze and brass moldings. Interior division consi...
Category

Early 1800s German Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Brass

Italian 1850s Rococo Style Tall Secretary with Slanted Desk and Original Paint
Located in Atlanta, GA
An Italian Rococo style two-part secretary from the mid-19th century, with slanted desk, mirrored doors and original paint. How not to fall head over heels in love with this Rococo s...
Category

Mid-19th Century Italian Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Wood, Glass

20th Century Inlaid Wood Lombard Trumeau Desk, 1960
Located in Vicoforte, Piedmont
Lombard trumeau from the mid-20th century. Moved and rounded furniture in Rococo style richly inlaid in walnut, burl, maple, beech and fruitwood. Double body trumeau equipped with th...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Rococo Secretaires

Materials

Wood

Exceptional 18thc Painted Venetian Secretary Desk
Located in New Orleans, LA
Fantastic painted Italian secretary with original designs, paint and interior silk fabric.
Category

Mid-18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Lacquer, Wood

Exceptional Mahogany Bureau Bookcase from Baltimore Maryland, circa 1830
By Circle of John Needles
Located in New York, NY
Mahogany bureau bookcase from Baltimore, Maryland of exceptional quality. Design is most like examples from shop of John Needles while tapering columnar supports and finely carved el...
Category

Early 19th Century American American Classical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

National Trust John Locke Secretaire
Located in Asheville, NC
This very rare Kindel reproduction is part of The National for Historic Preservation Collection, The Cliveden desk and bookcase is truly a masterpiece. An outstanding example of the Rococo style, the Cliveden desk and bookcase is English, circa 1750, and part of the collection on display at Cliveden Mansion in Germantown, PA. Kindel Furniture Company was selected as licensee to the National Trust to make a faithful reproduction of this secretary desk. This reproduction has all of the outstanding qualities of the original. Made of select mahogany, the bookcase has a "broken molded pediment" with decorative frieze and a superb hand-carved bust of John Locke...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Rococo Secretaires

Antique White Oak Secretary with Carved Details
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Unique antique secretary with a whitewash aged finish to the white oak. Two large glass doors at the top with adjustable shelves. Decorative carving in the doors. This piece ha...
Category

Early 19th Century English Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Oak

Italian Rococo Style Walnut Secretary Cabinet
Located in Cypress, CA
Attractive Italian Rococo style walnut veneer secretary cabinet, early 20th century. The top part of the cabinet over slant-front desk with w...
Category

Early 20th Century Italian Rococo Secretaires

Materials

Bronze

Neoclassical Roll-Top Desk, Austria, circa 1800
Located in Greding, DE
Large roll-top desk out of solid cherry wood. The base with seven drawers stands on tapered legs. The top has one very slim pullout and a low arcade balustrade on three sides. The in...
Category

Early 1800s Austrian Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Cherry

Early 19th Century Dutch Floral Marquetry Bureau Display Cabinet
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
The moulded cornice above two shaped glass panelled doors opening to shelves, the lower part with a hinged sloping fall front opening to reveal a fitted interior with a central door ...
Category

19th Century Dutch Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Ormolu

Antique Italian or Dutch Small Rococo Bombe Secretary Desk w/ Marquetry, c 1870
Located in Miami, FL
An exquisite 19th century Rococo secretary in mahogany with bombe front & sides, with floral & foliate inlays in tulipwood, kingwood & satinwood on the top, front panels of the drawe...
Category

Mid-18th Century Dutch Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany, Satinwood, Kingwood, Tulipwood

Venetian Hand-Painted Blind Door Secretary with Bookcase, Circa 1900
Located in Hollywood, SC
Venetian blind door secretary with a carved scrolled decorative cornice, upper case bookcase with hand-painted parrots and foliage, slant top reve...
Category

Early 1900s Italian Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Brass

Chapman Italian Neoclassical Burl Wood Patchwork Olivewood Tall Secretary Desk
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Chapman Italian neoclassical burl wood patchwork olivewood tall secretary desk. Item features 2 part construction, lighted interior with dimmer swi...
Category

20th Century Italian Neoclassical Secretaires

Materials

Burl

Continental Neoclassic Writing Table
Located in New York, NY
Continental neoclassic walnut writing table with fall front fitted secretaire drawer on replaced legs (early 19th century and later).  
Category

Early 19th Century European Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Walnut

Early 19th Century Duncan Phyfe Grecian Plain Style Mahogany Secretary Bookcase
By Duncan Phyfe
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An important piece of American furniture, attributed to the shop of Duncan Phyfe, circa 1840. To quote "Duncan Phyfe: Master Cabinetmaker in New York," 2011 (Kenny, Brown). "At its best, Phyfe's Grecian plain style furniture captures, the strength, simplicity and noble repose that characterize the best Greek Revival architecture. Phyfe achieved this effect by using the classical orders, often in abstracted form, and a quiet yet radiant palette of warm-toned rosewood and mahogany veneers, meticulously selected and applied in architectural manner." This secretary employs the finest available mahogany and follows in the strict adherence to proportion and form that made this expression of Phyfe's later career so powerful. The piece exactly matches a description of a piece sold at auction dissolving the Phyfe showroom and warehouse in 1844. The "Grecian standard" or scroll leg with the molded pedestal base and convex disc are all hallmarks of Phyfe's iconic work from 1834-1841. The cornice is supported on either side by scroll brackets which have lambs tongue details below, features linking it to another Phyfe secretary bookcase sold through Northeast Auctions...
Category

1830s American American Classical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

Amanuense Secretary Desk by Adolfo Natalini for Mirabili Limited Edition 2/99
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Limited edition release with metal tag indicating 2/99 "Part of a series of striking pieces designed by Adolfo Natalini, this secretary desk was entirely made in cherrywood with a dark finishing. The collapsible desk...
Category

Late 20th Century Italian Neoclassical Secretaires

Materials

Cherry

Russian Neoclassic Mahogany Secretaire Chest
Located in New York, NY
Russian Neoclassical (Early 19th Century) ormolu, & white marble mounted ebonized & mahogany secrétaire commode with top drawer desk and upper section.
Category

19th Century Russian Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

19th Century Federal Period Duncan Phyfe Style Flame Mahogany Secretary Bookcase
By Duncan Phyfe
Located in Charleston, SC
Rare and important antique American early 19th century figured mahogany "Duncan Phyfe" style flap-top secretary bookcase with gorgeous lyre-shaped glazed doors. Color of mahogany has...
Category

Early 19th Century American Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Mahogany

Turn of the 18th -19th C. Swedish Rococo Style Slant Front Secretary w/ Drawers
Located in Atlanta, GA
A late 18th century-early 19th century Rococo style slant front painted fir Swedish secretary with bonnet top, two doors and multiple drawers. The doors open up on inner shelves, inc...
Category

Late 18th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Fir

Russian Neoclassic Mahogany Secretaire
Located in New York, NY
Russian Neoclassic (Late 18th/ Early 19th Century) ormolu mounted ebonized and mahogany secretaire cabinet with a Pair of doors above a fitted fall...
Category

Early 19th Century Russian Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Ormolu

Italian style "bargueño". Tortoiseshell, wood, bronze. 18th century.
Located in Madrid, ES
Uncovered sample desk made of wood, with the central part advanced and highlighted with a double chapel of architectural composition. Each of the sides has five drawers with the front decorated with tortoiseshell and an elaborate golden bronze lock shield (two rampant lions faced, located on a garland and with a shield crowned between them, in which the hollow of the key). The center of the front has two levels: the lower one has four columns with éntasis, two on each side and joined by an entablature and a top finish in dark wood, and a series of gold metal elements in the center between which it stands out, sheltered under a semicircular arch, the figure of Hercules fighting against Caco; the upper one has some moldings forming some recesses, with an important heraldic shield in the center, all enhanced with volutes towards the sides, and different elements in gilded metal, of classicist inspiration. The general scheme of the furniture responds to a very widespread and valued model in 17th century Europe, of which the best examples have been, as a rule, those of Italian manufacture, and which is continued in the eighteenth century without breaking the compositional clarity of the one that shows in this frontal but yes changing slight decorative details and elements in the area of the central chapel, above all. The practice of using tortoiseshell plates...
Category

18th Century European Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Bronze

18th Century Louis XV Provincial Walnut Secretaire
Located in New York, NY
Of unusually large scale; the upper section with arched cornice over a pair of wire-inset doors opening to fabric lined interior fitted with shelves; the lower section with a slant f...
Category

Mid-18th Century French Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Walnut

Secretaire "À Abattant" Signed Hyppolyte-Edme Pretot, Paris, 19th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Secretaire "à abattant". Fine woods, marquetry, interior with drawers in rosewood and textile, gilded bronze and enameled porcelain; on marble. Signed HYPPOLYTE-EDME PRETOT (Paris, 1...
Category

19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Secretaires

Materials

Bronze

Italian 18th Century Rococo Secretary with Mirrored Doors and Lacca Povera Décor
Located in Palm Desert, CA
An Italian Rococo period lacca povera tall secretary from the 18th century, with bonnet top, mirrored-doors and slant-front desk over drawers. This exquisite 18th century Italian Roc...
Category

18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Paper, Mirror, Wood

Italian Venetian Secretary, 18th Century
Located in CH
An early 18th century Italian Venetian walnut and burl walnut veneered secretary with serpentine base and mirrored upper door.
Category

18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Walnut

White Swedish Oak Secretary Bureau, circa 1800-20
Located in Round Top, TX
This oak secretary or "bureau" reflects the grace and class of Swedish styling from the early 1800's. The dramatic serpentine drawers and carved outer panel of the drop down desk add...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Secretaires

Materials

Brass

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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