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Desks and Writing Tables For Sale
Style: Louis XV
Style: Louis XIII
French Louis XV Period 1750s Walnut Desk with Leather Top and Cabriole Legs
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French Louis XV period walnut desk circa 1750 with leather top, single drawer, cabriole legs and hoof feet. Immerse yourself in the world of French aristocracy with this exquisite ...
Category

Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut, Leather

Brass Bound Leather Top Louis XV Bureau Plat Baker Collector's Edition Desk
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
For customers that require professional insured delivery we are proud to have teamed up with a nationwide professional delivery company that will assist with coordinating your delive...
Category

1980s American Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Magnificent Flat Desk - Louis XV Style - Precious Wood Marquetry -Golden Bronzes
Located in CRÉTEIL, FR
Sublime piece of prestige, a magnificent flat desk, in the Louis XV style, in marquetry of precious wood with flower decoration.  It is a magnificent work e...
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19th Century Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Louis XV Style Auffray and Co Black Desk with Leather Top and Bronze Mounts
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Louis XV French style black lacquered desk from the mid 20th century by maker Auffray and Co, with leather top, gilt accents, bronze mounts and three drawers. Created during the Midcentury period, this black lacquer desk, made by Auffray and Co furniture, showcases the stylistic characteristics of the Louis XV era. The desk features a rectangular serpentine top fitted with black leather and gilt accents, sitting above an elegant apron. Three drawers, with bronze Rococo style hardware and gilded accents, present sinuous lines mimicking the apron's lines. The table is raised on four elegant cabriole legs with bronze feet. One of the drawers conceals the maker's label reading Fine French Furniture by Auffray and Co, inc. 921 Third Ave., NYC. With its Louis XV lines and black and gold colors, this French style desk...
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Mid-20th Century American Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Louis XV Marquetry Style Mahogany Brass Ormolu Mounted Bombe Leather Top Desk
Located in Chicago, IL
Antique French Louis XV Marquetry Style Mahogany Brass Ormolu Mounted Bombe Leather Top Desk A unique French Louis XV style ornate ormolu gilt mounted figural desk. The desk has a...
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1940s French Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Fine Quality Francois Linke Style Bronze Mounted Petite Ladies Desk, 1870s
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
For customers that require professional insured delivery we are proud to have teamed up with a nationwide professional delivery company that will assist with coordinating your delive...
Category

1870s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

18th Century French Louis XIII Style Walnut Table
Located in Madrid, ES
French walnut table in Louis XIII style, late 18th century, walnut with a single drawer from the 18th century. The legs are characteristically turned and the base is in the shape of ...
Category

Mid-18th Century French Louis XIII Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

18th Century French Hand Carved Walnut Writing Table with Two Drawers Louis XV
Located in Sofia, BG
18th century French hand carved walnut writing table with two side drawers resting on curved decorated legs. The table is in it authentic condition with no restorations made. The con...
Category

Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

French 19th Century Louis XV Style Ormolu-Mounted Lady's Secretary Desk, Millet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Very fine French 19th century Louis XV Style Ormolu-Mounted Kingwood, Satinwood and Fruitwood Parquetry Kidney-Shaped secrétaire de dame (Lady's Desk) with an enamel dial clock and...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu, Bronze

French Louis XV Rococo Style Walnut Writing Desk Table Circa 1960s
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This is a very unique desk and perfect for your office. The desk measures 50 wide x 24 deep x 30 tall and is in good condition.
Category

1960s North American Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

19th Century French Louis XV Carved Cherry Desk with Tan Leather Top
Located in Dallas, TX
This elegant antique fruitwood desk was created in the Poitou region of France, circa 1890. Made of wild cherry timber, the large writing table ...
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Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Cherry

Louis XVI Style Tulipwood Bureau Plat
Located in Essex, MA
With a rectangular top with inset deep burgundy leather with bronze outer border over three drawers and opposing false drawers raised on cabriole legs and sabot feet. With key.
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1880s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

18th Century Louis XV Provincial Writing / Occasional Table
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Louis XV provincial walnut writing / occasional table, 18th century. With an overhanging 3 board top with molded borders, frieze with drawer and scalloped apron, resting on cabriole ...
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18th Century European Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

18th Century Louis XV French Provençal Side Table
Located in Winter Park, FL
A late 18th century French Louis XV side table from Normandy, made of solid cherry. Rare, elegant serpentine form with shaped top, thick scalloped apron and cabriole legs. Dovetailed...
Category

Late 18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Iron

Louis XV Style Bureau Plate, 19th Century
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality 19th century Louis XV style bureau plat, having an inset leather top, gilded ormolu mounts, three frieze drawers to one side, d...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

Antique French Louis XIII Style Draw Leaf Dining Table with Barley Twist Legs
Located in Sheffield, MA
Antique French Louis XIII style oak draw leaf extending dining table with barley twist legs. This table has been lovingly restored...
Category

1920s French Louis XIII Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

19th Century Louis XV Style Gilt Carved Writing Table Desk
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Opulent 19th century French writing table, desk, or bureau plat made in the grand Louis XV taste. The wood frame of this extraordinary table is veneered and carved with intricate flo...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Gesso, Wood

Baker Collector's Edition Brass Bound Leather Top Louis XV Bureau Plat
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
For customers that require professional insured delivery we are proud to have teamed up with a nationwide professional delivery company that will assist with coordinating your delive...
Category

1980s American Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

19th Century, Bureau Plat, by Francoise Linke.
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A fine quality French kingwood and marquetry, ormolu-mounted Bureau plat, signed Linke. Having three frieze drawers to one side, dummy drawers to the reverse, inset Moroccan leather...
Category

1890s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Kingwood

French Mid-Century Louis XV Style Writing Desk
Located in Brooklyn, NY
French, Louis XV style, black lacquered chestnut writing desk, circa 1940's features a brass trimmed, embossed leather top with one center drawer and cabriole legs with carved bronze...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass, Bronze

Provincial French Tea Table with Drawer, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This elegant tea table was crafted of in late-19th-century France in the Louis XV-style, defined by its scalloped apron and thin cabriole legs. The s-form legs curve outwards from th...
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Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Fruitwood, Walnut

Mid-Century Italian Baroque Carved Walnut Secretary Chest of Drawers
Located in Dallas, TX
This elegant, multi-function antique chest was created in Italy, circa 1960. Siting on bracket feet over a straight bottom plinth, the fruit wood cabinet features what appears to be three drawers with raised burled panels and dressed with iron handles and matching escutcheons across the front. The hinged top half surface raises up while the top drop-front hinged drawer folds down, and reveals a writing surface with inside theater and four small drawers over a niche gallery. The bottom section features two large functional drawers for extra storage. Both sides are also decorated with burled walnut raised panels. The narrow and versatile baroque writing table commode is in excellent condition with a rich walnut patina, and has beautiful gothic hardware...
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Mid-20th Century Italian Louis XIII Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

A Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Bureau Plat by François Linke
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
A Louis XV Style gilt-bronze mounted bureau plat by François Linke. The rectangular top inset with a green leather writing surface with gilt-tooled border, within a gilt-bronze su...
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19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

18th Century, Louis XV Provencal Center Table
Located in Winter Park, FL
An 18th century French Louis XV table from Provence. Made of solid walnut with deep hand-carved apron and thick cabriole legs. Two dovetailed dr...
Category

18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Iron

French Louis XVIII Style Walnut Side Table
Located in Winter Park, FL
A Louis XVIII style French side table made of solid walnut with carved decoration. Dovetailed drawer with small brass ring pull. Turned legs connected by an X-form stretcher with cen...
Category

Early 19th Century French Louis XIII Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

19th C French Louis XV Style Carved Mahogany Two Drawer Table
Located in Southampton, NY
19th C French Louis XV Style Carved Walnut Two Drawer Table A beautifully carved serpentine shaped table with two drawers and classic Louis XV detailing. Original hardware. Previous ...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

French 19th C.Louis XV Style Ormolu Mounted Bureau-Plat Desk Attr. Paul Sormani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Very Fine and Large French 19th Century Louis XV Style Ormolu Mounted Tulipwood Three-Drawer Bureau Plat - After a model by Joseph Baumhauer (died 1772) - Attributed to Paul Sormani (French-Italian 1817-1877). The serpentine shaped rectangular top enclosing a gilt tooled burgundy leather writing surface (worn) within a molded border above a long central drawer flanked by two drawers, with scrolled ormolu drawer-pulls, ormolu floral encadrements and acanthus corners co-raised on elegant cabriolet legs. (Unsigned - Unmarked). Circa: Paris, 1880. Paul Sormani (1817-1877): Born in Venice, Paul Sormani set up in Paris in the middle of the 19th century. He specialized in creating furniture and works of art and was known for his high quality reproductions of Louis XV and XVI furniture...
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19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

A fine 19th c French Louis XV signed Bureau Plat
Located in Dallas, TX
A very Fine 19th century French Louis XV mahogany and gilt bronze mounted bureau blat signed Jemont Paris. Finest gilt bronze mounts with two side pull outs . Original leather top . French polished . Jemont exhibited alongside the likes of Francois Linke at the 1900 Paris Exposition .
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Louis XV Style Writing Desk with Serpentine Legs Painted with Gold Highlights
Located in London, Park Royal
Louis XV style writing desk made by La Maison London. Painted in a French grey with gold highlights. mounted on Serpentine legs with decorative bronzes ornaments . there is two dr...
Category

2010s British Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

18th Century French Louis XV Period Walnut Chateau Bonheur Du Jour or Secretary
Located in Birmingham, AL
A rare 18th century French Louis XV period chateau bonheur du jour or secrétaire handcrafted of walnut by very talented artisans in Lyon for a wealthy chateau owner near Villeurbanne, circa 1750s. This impressive antique French secretary features a chapeau de gendarme crown above a pair of carved serpentine doors with brass mesh grilles and beautiful green and gold damask fabric backings that open to reveal a painted interior with two display shelves. Three carved drawers are below. The lower section features a flat serpentine shaped writing surface that lifts opens to reveal plenty of storage above a carved, scalloped apron with C-scrolls and a center carved shell motif. Raised on four elegant cabriole legs ending in scrolled French toes. This grand Lyonnaise French library desk...
Category

1750s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Iron

French 19th Century Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marquetry Center Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Very Fine French 19th century Louis XV Style gilt-bronze mounted fruitwood floral marquetry center table or desk with drawer, by Ébéniste Louis Gradé, Gr...
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19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Baker Furniture French Provincial Louis XV Walnut Writing Desk, Newly Refinished
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional French Provincial Louis XV style writing desk By Baker Furniture USA, Circa 1960s Gorgeous book-matched figured walnut, with original brass hardware and mount...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Vintage French Provincial Petit-Bureau de Dame
Located in Forney, TX
A beautiful petit-bureau de dame (also known as bonheur de jour or lady's secretary desk). Born in Provincial France in early/mid 20th century, finished in luxurious Louis XV taste, ...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood, Paint

Early 20th Century French Louis XV Style Rosewood Inlaid Ladies Secretary
Located in Sofia, BG
Small ladies secretary animated form of veneer wood and rosewood marquetry, opening to two drawers in step. Bronze ornaments, pull handles the removab...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Rosewood

19th Century French Louis XV Inlaid Palisander Ladies Desk with Brass Ornaments
Located in Sofia, BG
French elegant small desk in palisander veneer, decorated with floral marquetry, revealing drawers, 66X92X43, Louis XV style.
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Palisander

French Louis XV Walnut 1-Drawer Table, circa 1765
Located in Atlanta, GA
A delicately carved walnut writing table with a single drawer on the side of the apron and a raised gallery around three sides for the original purpose of writing. Raised on four tap...
Category

Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

French Leather Top Writing Table
Located in New York, NY
A striking 19th-century walnut French writing table with one drawer and a black leather top. The table has developed a rich, warm patina and its size make it perfect as a small desk...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Walnut

Elegant French Side Table or Desk with Hooved Feet
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Elegant Louis XV side table or smaller scale desk bought in Avignon, France. Solid oak with one drawer and early peg joinery, this classy French side ...
Category

Early 1800s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

20th Century Louis XV Style French Bureau Plat or Desk After Francois Linke
Located in Berlin, DE
French Bureau Plat in Louis 15th Style after Francois Linke. Rosewood and shadowed noble woods, veneered. Exceptionally Fine floral, Bronze fixtures. Strongly bowed, four sided, curv...
Category

20th Century Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Louis XV Tuscany Walnut Veneered Writing Table
Located in Firenze, FI
Elegant writing table in walnut veenered poplar. Top centered by a star motif, a comfortable drawer in the band, curved legs typical of mid-18th century Tuscan manufacture.
Category

Late 18th Century Italian Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Poplar, Walnut

19th Century Régence Napoleon III Ebonized Desk/Bureau Plat Stamped Gros/Paris
By Benjamin Gros
Located in Berlin, DE
Excellent and rare French 19th century Napoleon III ebonized black lacquer Bureau plat or writing desk made in the Régence/Louis XV style made by Benjamin Gros/Paris, ca. 1855. Rais...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

19th Century French Oak Desk
Located in London, GB
19th century French oak desk. This lovely country house bureau plat is in an earlier C18th style, has three drawers (replaced hardware), and stylised ...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Large 19th Century French Louis XV Style Bureau Plat Partners Desk
Located in Dallas, TX
A very large French Louis XV style bureau plat partners desk from the late 19th century with an old black leather tooled top. This desk is beautifully veneered in kingwood and rosewo...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Gorgeous French Louis XV Carved Walnut Side Table or Desk with Gold Gilt
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Very rare French Louis XV table with original gold gilt paint. Multi functional versatlle stunning accent table, side table or focal point that ...
Category

1880s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut, Giltwood

19th Century Rosewood Writing Desk
Located in New York, NY
Hand-crafted in the 19th Century, this Louis XV-style desk is comprised of rosewood with decorative veneer, green leather top, and bronze mounts and pulls. The flat-top cabinet consi...
Category

19th Century Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

20th Century Inlaid Wood Faux Leather Top French Louis XV Style Writing Desk
Located in Vicoforte, Piedmont
French writing desk from the mid-20th century. Furniture in Louis XV style pleasantly inlaid and veneered in walnut and rosewood with rich bronze and brass decoration. Desk finished ...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass, Bronze

19th Century English Bureau Plat in the Manner of Edward Holmes Baldock
Located in Dublin, IE
A fine 19th century Louis XV style Walnut, Ebony and floral marquetry Bureau Plat in the manner of Edward Holmes Baldock, the serpentine shaped top inset with a panel of tooled leather within a border of scroll work and floral trails, the corners with shell and cabochon and foliate clasp mounts, above two frieze drawers decorated with floral marquetry and similar opposing dummy drawers, on cabriole legs applied with scrolling foliate and rocaille mounts trailing to sabots. Footnotes: Edward Holmes Baldock (1777-1845) is documented in London Trade Directories of the period in various capacities but first appears listed at 7 Hanway Street, London in 1805 described as a '..dealer in china and glass'. But by 1826 the various facets of the business included '..buying and selling, exchanging and valuing china, cabinets, screens, bronzes etc'. Baldock's business seems to have largely involved trading in foreign items and between 1832-7 he was the purveyor of earthenware and glass to William IV and later purveyor of china to Queen Victoria from 1838 until his death. He is known to have repaired, re-modelled and adapted furniture...
Category

19th Century English Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

18th Century French Cherrywood 'Bureau de Pente' Slant Top Writing Desk
Located in Dallas, TX
Larger than the typical Louis XV writing desk, this cherrywood bureau de pente was hand-carved in France during the late 1700’s, just after the period ended. This type of desk went by several names, including bureau dos d’âne and secrétaire à dessus brisé, and they almost always featured a fold-down writing surface. Four long, slender cabriole legs, which are typical of Louis XV writing desks, provide a sturdy base for the beautiful desk. The curvaceousness of the legs continues throughout the desk, from the subtly contoured sides to the highly sinuous apron on all sides. Set within the apron are two drawers with round bronze pulls that flank a faux center drawer with a foliate and shell handle. The fold-down writing surface, which has a functioning lock with a foliate escutcheon, opens to reveal eight small arbalete drawers arranged in four columns. Above the topmost drawers of each column is an open storage compartment. There are two more larger storage compartments in the center above a false-bottom hidden compartment. The fold down writing surface is held by a set of polished steel arms. A graceful and functional bureau de pente from the late 18th century, this cherrywood slant top writing desk...
Category

Late 18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Mid-18th Century Spanish Louis XIII Carved Walnut Library Console Table Desk
Located in Dallas, TX
Crafted in Spain circa 1760, the antique writing table stands on thick carved turned legs ending with bun feet, and embellished with an elegant rectangular box stretcher at the base. The tall table features two hand carved drawers...
Category

Mid-18th Century Spanish Louis XIII Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Huge Gilded Ebonized Period French Louis XV Marble Top Butlers Desk Commode
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
For customers that require professional insured delivery we are proud to have teamed up with a nationwide professional delivery company that will assist with coordinating your delivery needs! They offer a reasonable flat-rate fee for delivery and set up to the ground floor of your home. They deliver to the vast majority of the lower 48 states. They offer a flat rate for most of our items with exclusions for the largest or most complex items such as breakfronts or crystal chandeliers or other items of greater complexity. For those items please ask for a shipping quote prior to purchase as these rates are different from our stated pricing. For those items please ask for a shipping quote prior to purchase. Most deliveries to the East Coast will be 295.00, to the mid-west and Southern mid-west 395.00. To the areas west of Kansas 495.00 and the farthest points to the West coast will be 595.00. Again, some areas we can't cover, however we can deliver to most of the lower 48 states so please inquire to be sure! Delivery times range from as fast as 1-4 weeks for the east coast to 5-9 weeks to the farthest areas of the west coast, sometimes longer and sometimes even shorter. If it is a time sensitive purchase, we may be able to accommodate you for a higher price. It is our goal to please each and every one of our customers with the highest standard of service possible. You must realize and accept that we are shipping antique, vintage and quality used furnishings to your home. We cannot control traffic, weather, and acts of God. There will be times when additional patience will be necessary. Please see video below. This is a very rare, monumental butlers desk or large scale commode in solid oak with incredible hand polished and hand-hewn quarried marble. The piece has been painstakingly gilded and ebonized in a French-polished shellac finish and has a red interior. The piece features two side doors which at one time had adjustable shelves. Take a look at the incredible chunky antique locks...
Category

1770s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

1940s Petite Mahogany Ornate Painted Secretary Bureau with Flip Leather Top
Located in Germantown, MD
Beautifully painted and decorated mahogany Secretary Bureau writing table with Flip green Leather Top. Features two upper drawers, a lower large drawer with functional lock and key. Lower drawer pulls out to support the open flip top with green leather. Light weight and great space saver. Measures 27.25 inches wide, 16 inches deep and 23.5 inches deep with flip top open. Stand 43 inches overall tall...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany, Paint

Antique French Country Louis XV Walnut Writing Desk Table, Circa 1920
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This is a fantastic antique French desk. The desk is in good condition and measures 19 inches deep x 31 wide x 30 inches tall. The desk dates to teh 1920s.
Category

1920s French Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Antique French Carved Secretary Petite Desk Barley Twist Walnut Bookcase
Located in Shreveport, LA
19th century French Carved Secretary Petite Writing Desk Barley Twist Louis XIII. Direct from France, a beautifully appointed petite drop front walnut secretary...
Category

1890s French Louis XIII Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

French Sculptural Baroque Style Desk in Stained Pine, Early 20th Century
Located in Odense, DK
A fabolous french baroque style freestanding desk in solid stained pined. Finely handcrafted in the first half of the 20th century. Decorative decadent carvings. This fine desk w...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XIII Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Pine

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 Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Elegant French Style Writing Desk
Located in Riverdale, NY
Elegant French style writing desk with Louis XV lines in blond wood with silver leaf-painted table edge and feet. 3 drawers. Fitted g...
Category

1950s American Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

18th century Louis XV ITALIAN Writing Table with Drawers
Located in Firenze, FI
Elegant desk perfect for the center of the room, with drawers in solid walnut and walnut feather veneer on the sides, interiors in poplar. The drawers are all equipped with locks. Tu...
Category

Mid-18th Century Italian Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Antique 19th Century Louis XV Bureau Writing Table in Wood and Bronze
Located in BILBAO, ES
Castle worthy desk, solid wood. Rosewood veneer edged by finely engraved brass fittings. On angled, with four looking forward, imposing curly legs, on all sides scalloped. Profiled a...
Category

1880s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Antique and Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Choosing the perfect writing desk or writing table is a profoundly personal journey, one that people have been embarking upon for centuries.

Queen Atossa of Persia, from her writing table circa 500 B.C., is said to have been the originator of the art of handwritten letters. Hers was reportedly the first in a long and colorful history of penned correspondence that grew in popularity alongside literacy. The demand for suitable writing desks, which would serve the composer of the letters as well as ensure the comfort of the recipient naturally followed, and the design of these necessary furnishings has evolved throughout history.

Once people began to seek freedom from the outwardly ornate styles of the walnut and rosewood writing desks and drafting tables introduced in the name of Queen Victoria and King Louis XV, radical shifts occurred, such as those that materialized during the Art Nouveau period, when designers longed to produce furniture inspired by the natural world’s beauty. A prime example is the work of the famous late-19th-century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí — his rolltop desk featured deep side drawers and was adorned with carved motifs that paid tribute to nature. Gaudí regularly combined structural precision with decorative elements, creating beautiful pieces of furniture in wood and metal.

Soon afterward, preferences for sleek, geometric, stylized forms in furniture that saw an emphasis on natural wood grains and traditional craftsmanship took hold. Today, Art Deco desks are still favored by designers who seek to infuse interiors with an air of luxury. One of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco movement was French decorator and furniture designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. With his use of neoclassical motifs as well as expensive and exotic materials such as imported dark woods and inlays of precious metals for his writing desks, Ruhlmann came to symbolize good taste and modernity.

The rise in appreciation for Scandinavian modernism continues to influence the design of contemporary writing desks. It employs the “no fuss” or “less is more” approach to creating a tasteful, sophisticated space. Sweden’s master cabinetmaker Bruno Mathsson created gallery-worthy designs that are as functional as they are beautiful. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto never viewed himself as an artist, but, like Mathsson, his furniture designs reflected a fondness for organic materials and a humanistic approach. Danish designers such as Hans Wegner introduced elegant shapes and lines to mid-century desks and writing tables, often working in oak and solid teak.

From vintage desks to contemporary styles, 1stDibs offers a broad spectrum of choices for conducting all personal and business writing and reading activities.

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