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Desks and Writing Tables

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Desks and Writing Tables For Sale
Period: Early 20th Century
Period: 1920s
Asprey & Co. London Oak & Tooled Racing Green Leather Pop-Up Writing Desk 1920s
Located in High Wycombe, GB
Luxurious, Asprey & Co. London (Royal Warrant) Oak & Tooled Racing Green Leather Pop-Up Writing Table Made in England in the 1920s. Item is sold complete with a Burgundy tooled red leather desk set also from Aspreys. It's a very attractive item befit with an aluminium desk calendar, letter opener and two vertical pen rests. The rectangular and hinged two panel top encloses a green leather writing surface which reveals itself when opened from the top, item is raised on square tapering legs. Desk comes with two original large glass inkwells...
Category

1920s English Edwardian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany, Leather, Oak

Edwardian Desk Chair Set Mahogany Maple and Co
Located in Potters Bar, GB
Eye catching Edwardian desk and matching chair set both in mahogany Circa 1910 and originally made by Maple & Co - please see photo of stamp and makers mark on listing Extensively in...
Category

1910s Edwardian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Handsome Antique French Louis XV Style Writing Table or Desk
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Very beautiful maple desk in Louis XV style from the beginning of the 20th century. Elegant curved legs supporting sculpted frieze with five finely dovetailed drawers, each with gold...
Category

Early 20th Century American Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

French Mahogany Art Nouveau Writing Desk Signed Louis Majorelle
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
Signed ‘Louis Majorelle’ Art Nouveau desk with the sinuous lines and curves typical of the style. Four curved-front drawers retaining their original ormol...
Category

Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

Walnut Center/Writing Table with Flame Veneered Top
Located in Malibu, CA
Burl Walnut Center Table/ Writing Desk Stunning Queen Anne style center table/writing table hand made in walnut with dramatic burled venneers. Fine craftsmanship with a 1.75" thick t...
Category

Early 20th Century American Queen Anne Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Macassar Ebony Art Deco Amsterdamse School Desk by Daniel van Dorp for Reens
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and ultra rare Art Deco Amsterdamse School desk. Design by Daniel van Dorp for Gebroeders Reens Amsterdam. Striking Dutch design from the 1920s. Solid macassar ebony with...
Category

1920s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Faux Leather, Macassar

Gustav Stickley Mission Oak Arts & Crafts Trestle Library Table or Writing Desk
Located in South Bend, IN
A rare and exceptional antique Mission oak Arts & Crafts trestle library table or writing desk By Gustav Stickley (original label present) USA, circa 1900 Measures: 48"W x 2...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Early 20th C. Chippendale Style Mahogany Oxbow Slant Front Desk
Located in Germantown, MD
An early 20th century Chippendale Style Mahogany Oxbow Slant Front Secretary Desk. 4 dovetailed Serpentine drawers. Slant front door opens to reveal addition storage space with 5 sma...
Category

Early 20th Century American Chippendale Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Original Louis Seize Style Bureau Mahogany Table, Early 20th Century
Located in Vienna, AT
Perfect craftsmanship, inlaid mahogany and bronze application, early 20th century, a secret drawer on one side, freestanding.
Category

1910s Austrian Louis XVI Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Zierlicher Jugendstil Schreibtisch, Vogelaugenahorn, Wien um 1910
Located in Wien, AT
Objekt: Schreibtisch Entwurf: unbekannt, Wien um 1910 Modell-Nummer: - Ausführung: unbekannte Kunstmöbeltischlerei, Wien um 1910 Maße in cm (H x B x T): 76 x 90 x 55 Material: Vogela...
Category

1910s Austrian Jugendstil Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Black Painted Writing Table Console With Two Drawers, Denmark circa 1910
Located in Round Top, TX
Antique baroque writing table from Denmark with two functioning drawers and scallop carved skirt. The handsome legs with square base are made more dramatic with carved fluted trim. L...
Category

Early 20th Century Danish Baroque Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood, Paint

Antique Chippendale Mahogany Kneehole Bowfront Library Office Table Writing Desk
Located in Dayton, OH
Antique Chippendale style kneehole writing desk featuring rectangular form with bowfront, eight drawers, brass batwing hardware and polished glass top. Originally purchased at the Rike Kumler...
Category

Early 20th Century Chippendale Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

1920s United States Roll Top Office Desk with Drawers and Wheels
Located in Marbella, ES
1920 United States roll top office desk with drawers and wheels.
Category

Early 20th Century North American Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Antique French Louis XVI Style Leather Top Writing Desk
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Refined antique French Louis XVI style writing desk crafted in exotic tulipwood veneer with crossbanding and chevron designs, having a tooled leather top with a brass gallery, the ca...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Oak Art Deco Modernist Writing Table by Hendrik Wouda for Pander, 1924
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and ultra rare Art Deco Modernist writing table. Design by Hendrik Wouda for H. Pander & Zonen Den Haag. Striking Dutch design from 1924.Solid oak and original oak veneer...
Category

1920s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Louis XV Style Desk
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
Louis XV Style Tea / Centre Table From Paris. A combination of exotic woods including rosewood, tulip wood and more with delicate little bronze mounts were used in the creation of th...
Category

Early 1900s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Antique Stickley Brothers Arts & Crafts Desk or Library Table, Newly Restored
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional antique Mission or Arts & Crafts quarter sawn oak writing desk or library table with built-in bookcases By Stickley Brothers USA, circa 1900 Measures: 40"W x ...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Superb 1920s Oak Roll Top Desk
Located in Dublin, IE
A superb 1920s beautifully patinated oak roll top desk of neat proportions, finely carved and of gorgeous quality. The moulded top of rectangular fo...
Category

1920s English Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Antique L. & J.G. Stickley Mission Oak Arts & Crafts Desk, Circa 1900
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional antique Mission or Arts & Crafts writing desk By L. & J.G. Stickley USA, Circa 1900 Quarter sawn oak, with original hammered copper hardware. Measures: 48"...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Copper

French Louis XV Kingwood and Burl Wood Bureau Plat Leather Top Desk with Ormolu
Located in South Bend, IN
An outstanding French Louis XV style executive writing desk or bureau plat desk France, circa Early 20th century Kingwood and burled walnut, with bronze trim and ornate ormolu ...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Antique Traditional Secretary Wood Desk with Shelf, FR-1062
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Antique Traditional Secretary Wood Desk with Shelf The secretary desk with shelf originates from France. The wood desk has a warm, worn black fi...
Category

Early 20th Century French Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Early 20th Century Metamorphic Writing Desk by J.C Vickery of London
Located in Martlesham, GB
Early 20th century mahogany metamorphic writing table by J.C Vickery of Regent St, London, the moulded edge hinged top lifting up and folding over to reveal the rising writing desk top, which consists of various writing instruments including ink wells, various compartments and a time piece, the writing slope also lifts up to reveal further storage space, the underneath of the writing slope is marked “J.C VICKERY” Standing on elegant cabriole legs. Circa 1910. JC Vickery is a British consumer goods company founded in 1890 London. John Collard Vickery and his then partner, Arthur Thomas Hobbs, bought up the long established business of William Griggs...
Category

1910s European Edwardian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

French Art Deco Desk in Pommelle Sapelle
Located in Paddock Wood Tonbridge, GB
An exceptional quality French Art Deco desk, produced around 1925 using solid Pomelle Sapele the desk has five drawers with bronze handles and crisply carved detail, the desk is free...
Category

1920s French Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Other

1900s French Wooden Desk
Located in High Point, NC
A wooden desk created in 1900s France. Unassuming and sturdily composed, this classic writing desk offers a calming sense of purpose and thoughtfully com...
Category

Early 1900s French Country Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Oak Art Deco Modernist Partner Desk by Hendrik Wouda for Pander, 1924
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and ultra rare Art Deco Modernist partner desk. Design by Hendrik Wouda for H. Pander & Zonen Den Haag. Striking Dutch design from ...
Category

1920s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Rare French Art Deco Writing Table / Desk in Teak c. 1925, style of Andre Groult
Located in New York, NY
Elegant and Timeless French Art Deco Writing Table / Desk in Teak Wood circa 1925. This rare and original piece has an exquisite sense of line, form and volume that creates a dramati...
Category

Early 20th Century French Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

1930s Art Deco Raymond Patten Signed Industrial Kitchen Work Table
Located in Forney, TX
A fabulous original American Art Deco industrial Smartline kitchen work table, designed by Raymond Patten (American, 1897-1948), retailed by Internation...
Category

Early 20th Century American Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Chrome, Enamel, Stainless Steel

Small 20th Century Satin Birch Writing Desk by Heal & Son London
Located in Llanbrynmair, GB
A beautiful Satin Birch writing desk by Heal & Son London. This little desk will light up any room, the satinwood birch has a wonderful texture and movement and a colour tone that o...
Category

Early 20th Century British Aesthetic Movement Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Birch, Satinwood

Antique Arts & Crafts Oval Oak Library Table circa 1910
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique Arts and Crafts library table offers quarter sawn oak construction with top in oval form over straight skirt with sing...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Antique 6ft/184cm Ormolu Mounted French Empire Revival Pedestal Desk 1920s
Located in London, GB
This is an exquisite antique French Empire Revival pedestal desk, Circa 1920 in date. This desk has been beautifully crafted from flame mahogany. The top has a decorative ormolu bod...
Category

1920s French Empire Revival Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

Mahogany Pedestal Desk
Located in Cheshire, GB
Large mahogany pedestal desk the rectangular top with inset leather having tooled border enclosed by a moulded edge over an arrangement of three freeze drawers. Above two large pedes...
Category

Early 20th Century British Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Vintage French Industrial Architect's Drafting Table
Located in Winter Park, FL
A French Industrial style mechanical architect's drafting table with original green lacquered metal base and large solid elmwood top. The platform is fully modular: using the wood pedal on the front it is possible to raise and lower the top and it may be tilted to any angle, from flat to vertical. The wood drawing surface has an nice patina with some old ink marks and there is a large wood trough...
Category

Early 20th Century French Industrial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Limbert Mission Oak Arts & Crafts Desk or Library Table, Newly Restored
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional Mission or Arts & Crafts library table or desk. By Charles P. Limbert Co. USA, Circa 1900 Quartersawn oak, with original copper hardware. Measures: 36"W x ...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Copper

Axel-Einar Hjorth, 'Lovö' Table, Nordiska Kompaniet, 1932
Located in Berlin, DE
Pine 'Lovö' table by Swedish Modernist Axel-Einar Hjorth, manufactured by Nordiska Kompaniet in Sweden, circa 1932. Best known for his modern reduced design, this table by Axel-Eina...
Category

Early 20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Pine

Antique Stickley Mission Oak Arts & Crafts Desk or Library Table, Circa 1900
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional antique Mission or Arts & Crafts writing desk or library table By L. & J.G. Stickley USA, Circa 1900 Solid quarter sawn oak, with original hammered copper hardware....
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Copper

Antique French Rustic Neoclassical Executive Desk ~ Conference Table
Located in Dallas, TX
Antique French Rustic Neoclassical Executive Desk ~ Conference Table was crafted on a truly grand scale from dense, old-growth oak which has been painstakingly stripped by our expert...
Category

Early 20th Century French Neoclassical Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Antique Arts & Crafts Oak Writing Desk From Frank Lloyd Wright's DeRhodes House
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful antique Mission oak Arts & Crafts writing desk or library table with built-in bookcases Recently procured from Frank Lloyd Wright's DeRhodes House In the manner of ...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak, Cork

1920s Art Deco Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann Style Rosewood Desk with Chrome Feet
Located in High Wycombe, GB
1920s Art Deco Solid Rosewood Rectangular Desk With Original Fittings. The Central Drawer is housed between two sets of drawers with Chrome finished feet, and handles. This exquisite Streamline Moderne desk...
Category

Early 20th Century French Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Stainless Steel

Stunning Edwardian Satinwood Kidney Shaped Desk
Located in Dublin, IE
A stunning Edwardian satinwood kidney shaped desk, of fabulous quality, finely carved and line inlaid throughout. The moulded desk top is fitted with a gorgeous green gilt embossed t...
Category

Early 20th Century English Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Antique Stickley Brothers Mission Oak Arts & Crafts Desk or Library Table
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional antique Mission or Arts & Crafts writing desk or library table with built-in bookcases By Stickley Brothers USA, Early 20th Century Quarter sawn oak, with ori...
Category

Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Copper

Spanish Colonial Narrow Console Table with Two Drawers with Iron Hardware
Located in Miami, FL
Spanish colonial narrow console table with two carved drawers This piece has a two-pedestal legs with an awesome carved. We have a matching piece you can see in the last picture...
Category

Early 20th Century Spanish Spanish Colonial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Iron

Gorgeous Edwardian Inlaid Side or Writing Table by Hampton and Sons
Located in Dublin, IE
A gorgeous Edwardian inlaid side or writing table, finely carved and of fabulous quality with richly patinated timbers comprising of mahogany and fruitwood. The moulded cross banded, quarter veneered top of rectangular form with a lovely inlaid oval pattern to the central reserve, raised over pull out slide section revealing a writing skiver surface fitted with gorgeous green embossed tooled leather. Raised over moulded frieze with single centred cockbeaded, line inlaid drawer with turned pulls, brass escutcheon and key. Supported on elegantly, tapering square leg, terminating on spade foot, labelled 'Hampton & Sons LTD. Pall Mall East, London.’ Hampton & Sons Hampton & Sons were one of the most prestigious British cabinet makers of the 19th and 20th Century, creating very fine and highly sought after antique furniture renowned for it's fine quality craftsmanship. Reputedly established in 1830, Hampton & Sons began by selling general household and fine furniture in Cranbourn Street, near Covent Garden, London, with their works at 43 Belvedere Road in southeast London. William Hampton’s two sons, George and William, joined the firm in 1869 and they moved to a larger premises at 8 Pall Mall. By 1871 they had expanded to two locations: 1, 2 & 3 Dorset Place, Charing Cross and 8 Pall Mall East. Advertising as 'cabinet makers, upholsterers, bed & mattress makers...
Category

Early 20th Century English Edwardian Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Antique Leather Top Writing Table
Located in London, GB
A charming antique writing desk / side table. This was made in England, it dates from around the 1900-1920 period. It is of superb quality and is a very useful size. The single draw...
Category

1910s British Chippendale Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Wood

A Very Fine Edwardian Leather Top Kidney Shaped Desk
Located in Dublin, IE
A very fine Edwardian mahogany leather top nine drawer kidney shaped desk, of stunning quality, finely carved, line inlaid and crossbanded throughout. The moulded desk top is fitted...
Category

Early 20th Century English Edwardian Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Early 20th Spanish Mobila Country Farm Desk with, Side Table or Butcher Block
Located in Miami, FL
A charming early 20th century Spanish pine farm table with four tapered legs and a wonderfully well-worn finish from a century of use. Table works well for dining, but can also be us...
Category

Early 20th Century Spanish Spanish Colonial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Pine

Early 20th Century Leather Top Desk
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Early 20th century leather top mahogany desk circa 1910. Original red leather writing surface with gold tooling, with obvious signs of use.  Fitted with 3 drawers above the the kn...
Category

Early 20th Century Swedish Georgian Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Mahogany

Martin Nyrop, Desk, Oak, Brass, Denmark, c. 1900
Located in High Point, NC
An oak and brass desk, designed and produced for the Copenhagen City Hall by Martin Nyrop Denmark, c. 1900
Category

Early 1900s Danish Scandinavian Modern Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Large Vintage Oak Desk, Double Sided with Display End
Located in Ely, GB
A beautifully large vintage partner desk or possible retail counter desk. The desk is in good vintage condition with age related marks and scuf...
Category

1920s British Industrial Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Antique Adam Decorated Satinwood Ladies Cylinder Desk, Circa 1900
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique Adam decorated ladies desk offers satinwood construction with roll top opening to interior with storage compartments and pull-out writing surface, over three drawers, rais...
Category

Early 20th Century Adam Style Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Satinwood

Large Antique Mahogany Writing Table
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
For sale is a good quality large leather top writing table by Taylor & Sons, Brompton Road, London, having three leather inserts each d...
Category

Early 20th Century English Georgian Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Antique Spanish Walnut Burl and Rosewood Claw Foot Drop Front Secretary Desk
Located in Chicago, IL
Antique Spanish Walnut Burl and Rosewood Claw Foot Drop Front Secretary Desk This beautiful secretary’s desk from Spain is handcrafted from Walnut Burl and Rosewood. It has a dro...
Category

Early 1900s Spanish Spanish Colonial Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Bureau Plat Louis XVI Style in Marquetry and Gilt Bronze
Located in BARSAC, FR
Elegant Louis XVI style Bureau Plat in mahogany and marquetry in rosewood frieze. Beautiful ornamentation of very finely chiseled gilt bronze. Moroccan leather top surrounded b...
Category

Early 1900s French Louis XVI Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Satinwood Inlaid Partners Desk
Located in Cheshire, GB
Satinwood partners desk, the large rectangular top with inset brown leather enclosed by tulipwood banding. To the frieze fitted with three drawers and twin pedestals below, one side ...
Category

Early 20th Century British Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Satinwood

Antique Rustic Country French Desk
Located in Dallas, TX
Antique Rustic Country French desk is the ideal choice for the executive who wants a more relaxed, casual feel to the office. Great as a home offic...
Category

Early 20th Century French Country Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Rare No.49 Art Nouveau Desk from Finland
Located in Munich, DE
wonderful light and elegant desk from finland by suomen tuoli-, kalusto- ja sorvaustehdas. from the area of jyväskylä & muurame. this small and rare desk will be an wonderful additio...
Category

1910s Finnish Art Nouveau Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Vienna Art Deco Josef Hoffman Manner Eight-Piece Salon Suite Set
Located in Forney, TX
A rare Art Deco period eight-piece study suite set in the manner of famous Austrian architect, designer, and Vienna Secession founder Josef Hoffman (Austria, 1870-1956), circa 1920. Exquisitely handcrafted in Austria in the early 20th century, most likely Vienna, featuring fine quality craftsmanship and solid wood construction, featuring Biedermeier inspired Viennese Art Deco styling of simplicity, strict, geometric lines with minimal surface embellishment, instead of ornamentation putting the focus on high-quality materials. The matching eight-piece set comprising a tanker writing desk with inset leather surface, surmounted with raised gallery fitted with drawers flanking richly figured quilted diamond inlay, rising on double pedestals with locking cupboard doors opening to stacked shelved tray interior, affixed with patinated brass pulls and escutcheons, retaining original keys, finished on all sides so it can be placed anywhere in the room, and paired with a comfortable armchair with upholstered seat and backrest. A large eight door bookcase storage cabinet with original glass panels, adjustable shelves, and cocktail drinks bar slide. A centre card table with rectangular shaped canted corner top featuring inset green baize felt games playing surface, over conforming apron fitted with dovetailed drawers, rising on square column pedestal, surrounded by four upholstered side chairs. Dimensions: (approx) 79" High, 65" Wide, 21" Deep (largest, cabinet) PROVENANCE / ACQUISITION: Property from the important Estate of Myra Janco Daniels (1925-2022) Naples, Florida. A legendary business woman, philanthropist, and arts advocate who built the institution known today as Artis—Naples and made Naples a cultural destination. Additional info below. Acquired from highly reputable auction house, Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas. Design Signature Auction catalog #8110 Condition Report: Great original antique condition with beautifully aged warm mellow patina. Strong, sturdy and structurally sound. Overall very attractive condition; no significant losses or restorations; wear consistent with over 100 years of age and indicative of use. Delivered cleaned, waxed, hand rubbed polished French patina finish, ready for immediate use and generational enjoyment! ABOUT THE LEGENDARY PREVIOUS OWNER: We normally don't post about the prior owners life, but in the case of Myra Janco Daniels (1925-2022) we felt her incredible story be shared. The arts visionary and advertising Pioneer who helped transform Southwest Florida into a nationally recognized cultural destination, died June 22, three days before her 97th birthday. Daniels was founder and longtime CEO of the Philharmonic Center for the Arts (now Artis-Naples), which since 1989 has brought world-class music, theater, dance, opera, and art to Naples. In 2000, she founded the Naples Museum of Art (now the Baker Museum) on that same campus. After a storied career as an advertising executive in Chicago, Daniels came out of retirement in the early 1980s to spearhead a fund-raising drive for a small classical music ensemble on MarCo Island, which would later become the Naples Philharmonic orchestra. She discovered “a great hunger for the arts,” she later wrote, and soon expanded her fundraising goal to building a permanent home for the orchestra and an arts center for Southwest Florida. Daniels’ vision for the Philharmonic Center was ambitious and unusual – combining world-class performing and visual arts in a single venue. The Community strongly supported the concept, and the Phil, as it became known, gave Naples a national arts profile. Then-First Lady Barbara Bush was in attendance on opening night in November 1989. The Wall Street Journal covered the opening. “Myra Daniels is a dreamer. But unlike most dreamers, Myra is a doer,” the late Muriel Seibert, the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, once said of Daniels. While the arts were a lifelong passion for Daniels, her first career was as a groundbreaking advertising executive in Chicago, where she won national Advertising Woman of the Year honors and was among the first women to head a national ad firm. Daniels said that she used some of the same principles learned in her advertising career to sell Southwest Florida on the arts. “You have to believe in what you’re doing and then you have to get people involved to the point that they feel it’s theirs. That’s what we did.” Born Myra Janco in Gary, Indiana, Daniels was raised during the Great Depression by parents who encouraged her interest in the arts. But her greatest influence growing up was her grandmother Sophie, who, like Daniels, stood only five feet tall but dreamed big. “Sophie showed me what was possible,” Daniels wrote. “Create something that people want and need and you’ll be successful, she said. I always remembered that.” Her grandmother, who ran her own real estate business, experienced some failures “but she always dusted herself off and went back out there swinging. She wanted me to be that way too.” Daniels earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana State and later became an associate professor of marketing at Indiana University, the first woman to hold that position. In her mid-20s, she started Wabash Advertising in Terre Haute, Indiana, which later became affiliated with larger agencies in Chicago and Cleveland. In 1963, she was named executive vice president of Roche, Rickard, Henri, Hurst, Inc. in Chicago. The National Advertising Federation honored Daniels as its Advertising Woman of the Year in 1965, the youngest woman to receive the award. That same year, she became president of a new national agency that she formed with ad man Draper Daniels. The merger was not just a professional one. Draper Daniels, who was responsible for many famous ad campaigns at the time, including the Marlboro Man and was later an inspiration for the Don Draper character on TV’s Mad Men, became her husband in 1967. Myra wrote about their unusual courtship and life together for Chicago magazine, in an article entitled “I Married a Mad Man,” which was included in her book Secrets of a Rutbuster. They ran the Draper Daniels, Incorporated agency, as it was called, until 1977. When Draper wanted to retire to Southwest Florida, Myra Daniels reluctantly left Chicago and advertising, and they settled on MarCo Island. But after Draper died of cancer in 1983, Myra turned her energies to the fundraising Campaign that led to the Philharmonic Center Cultural Complex. Daniels served as CEO of the Philharmonic Center from its inception in the 1980s to her retirement in 2011, building the Phil into a $100 million corporation. During that time, the Naples Philharmonic became a nationally recognized orchestra, with a Grammy nomination, CD and appearances on PBS; and the Naples Museum of Art developed an international reputation. The center also helped change people’s perception of Naples, which had been known mostly for its beaches and golfing. In 2005, Naples was named the Best Small Art Town in America in a book that singled out the Phil. More than just an arts venue, the Philharmonic Center also wove the arts into the culture of the Community, providing public school programs, adult and children’s education classes and workshops, and free concerts throughout Southwest Florida. Edward Villella, legendary dancer with the New York City Ballet and founder of Miami City...
Category

Early 20th Century Austrian Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Round Black Pedestal Dining Table, Sweden 1920
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Early Swedish 20th Century Pedestal Dining Table in Black Paint. This round table has beautiful Gustavian ribbed details with a border going around the table edge.
Category

Early 20th Century Swedish Gustavian Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Pine

Antique Chippendale Carved Mahogany Knee Hole Desk, Claw & Ball Feet, C1920
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique Chippendale style knee hole desk offers mahogany construction with top having rope twist trim over central drawer with flanking smaller drawers and reeded columns, raised ...
Category

Early 20th Century Chippendale Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

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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