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Desks and Writing Tables For Sale
Period: 18th Century and Earlier
Period: 1940s
Early 18th Century Oak Bureau
Located in Martlesham, GB
Early 18th century oak bureau, the fall opening to reveal a lovely fitted interior with various drawers, pull out slides and compartments, the...
Category
1740s British Georgian Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Oak
George I Walnut Kneehole Desk
Located in Essex, MA
Nicely figured walnut, rectangular quarter veneer top over top over a drawer and kneehole with door and small drawer flanked by drawers raised on bracket feet.
Category
Early 18th Century English George I Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Other
Exceptional Early 17th Century Spanish Walnut Vargueno Desk on Stand
Located in Benington, Herts
An exceptionally fine example of an early 17th Century Spanish renaissance walnut vargueno / bargueno escritorio writing desk on trestle stand.
Sp...
Category
17th Century Spanish Renaissance Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
George III Sheraton Period Desk
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
A stunning George III Sheraton Period lady's small tambour fronted desk.
Constructed from exceptional figured satinwood with rosewood crossbanding ...
Category
18th Century British Country Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Satinwood
18th C. Italian Table w/Carved-Trestle Legs & Elegantly Forged Iron Stretchers
Located in Atlanta, GA
An Italian walnut wood nicely-carved trestle-leg table with decorative forged-iron stretcher, from the 18th century. This antique table from Italy features a rectangular-shaped top, ...
Category
18th Century Italian Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
18th c. English Architect's Desk/Library Table
Located in Greenwich, CT
Very fine English George III country house mahogany architect's desk/library table having richly grained single board top with molded edge over single wide drawer with pull out and d...
Category
1760s English Georgian Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany
Art Deco French Desk
Located in Houston, TX
Beautiful desk is made out of walnut wood, middle section of the desk top is covered with cowhide. Desk has 4 spacious drawers with wide chrome handles. Has prominent base and wide l...
Category
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Chrome
Italian Antique Table w/Single Drawer Raised on Boldly Carved Legs & Stretchers
Located in Atlanta, GA
An Italian carved-wood table with single drawer from the turn of the 18th and 19th century. This antique table from Italy has a rectangular-shaped top which overhangs a apron below w...
Category
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
18th Century Italian Walnut Baroque Trestle Table
Located in Bradenton, FL
Italian, 18th century. Baroque walnut dining or tavern table having a thick walnut top above turned legs with Walnut stretcher. Perfect size to use as a writing table, sofa or center...
Category
18th Century Italian Baroque Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Very Fine circa 1780 Georgian Mahogany Reading Table with Candle Slips & Slope
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this exquisite hand made in England circa 1780-1800 Georgian reading table with period candelabra slip trays
...
Category
1780s English Georgian Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany
Very Fine 17th Century Spanish Desk
Located in Atlanta, GA
A very fine mid-18th century desk from the Catalan region of Spain. This wonderful desk is beautifully constructed from walnut and hand-forged iron ...
Category
17th Century Spanish Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Iron
18th Century Spanish Baroque Trestle Style Writing Table Desk with Two Drawers
Located in Madrid, ES
A beautifully conserved Spanish writing table with mixtilinear “pata de lira” (lyre-shaped legs) displaying zig-zagging curves and undulations, in the Baroque ...
Category
18th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
18th Century German Burr Elm and Walnut Secretary, with Ebonized Trim and Inlaid
Located in North Miami, FL
18th Century German burr elm and walnut secretary, adorned with ebonized trim and inlaid decorations and patterns. A pair of paneled doors over three small cupboards with beautiful details, over a pull-out writing surface with fitted interior, the base with three small drawers over two sets of three drawers. High quality and incredible hand-carving, one of the most expensive...
Category
18th Century German Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood, Walnut, Burl
Spanish 18th Century Carved Walnut Table with Original Iron Pulls and Lyre Legs
Located in London, Charterhouse Square
A Spanish 18th century walnut table with decorative original carved frieze with double drawers, original iron pulls and beautiful lyre legs.
Category
18th Century Spanish Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Early 17th Century Spanish Walnut Folding Center Table
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This particular type of table was invented by 16th century Spanish cabinetmakers.
This elegant table can easily be taken apart. Its rectangular top is assembled to the legs with i...
Category
Early 17th Century Spanish Renaissance Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
17th C. Provencal Hand Carved Antique Side Table Walnut Desk Drawers Farm LA CA
Located in West Hollywood, CA
17th C. Provencal Hand Carved Antique Side Table Walnut Desk Drawers Farm LA CA . Beautiful 17th into 18th century Provençal Continental table in walnut and Fruitwood with center drawers. These tables were used in the Mas and Manoir . It's the perfect addition to a Provincial design , as a side table, between two chairs, to have a chinoiserie piece of art on top . Or as a small bureau desk...
Category
17th Century European Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Metal
Art Deco Hungarian Desk in Walnut
Located in Houston, TX
Desk top is made out of high police walnut wood with cowhide insert in the middle. There are 2 drawers with chrome handles. Desk is elevated by thin chrome legs that are connected on...
Category
1940s Hungarian Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Chrome
18th Century Walnut Writing Table with Two Drawers and Antique Fittings
Located in Marbella, ES
18th century walnut writing table with two drawers and antique fittings.
Category
Mid-18th Century Spanish Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Table for Spanish Desk, Pine and Beech Tree Wood, Iron, 18th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Bargueñera table with spiral leg. Pine and beech wood, iron. Century XVIII.
Rectangular board table made of pine wood and turned beech wood legs in the shape of spiral columns, whi...
Category
18th Century Spanish Neoclassical Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Iron, Other
Neoclassical Desk, Louis XVI Period 1780
Located in Belmont, MA
This original Louis XVI Desk stands out for its beautiful walnut veneer which is additionally embellished with intarsia. The desk stands on four tapering square legs. It has three dr...
Category
1780s German Louis XVI Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
French Art Deco Cerused Oak Curved Desk Attributed to Jules Leleu
Located in Houston, TX
French Art Deco cerused oak curved desk attributed to Jules Leleu. This stunning French Modern limed oak desk has beautiful bronze hardware and sabots with bookshelves on the front s...
Category
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Original Louis XVI Desk, Inlaid Walnut Wood, Writing Surface in Slate, 18th C
Located in Torino, IT
Original Louis XVI writing desk, in veneered and inlaid wood, with writing surface in slate, three drawers.
Origin
Italy
Period
Eighteenth century
Model
Desk / writing de...
Category
18th Century Italian Louis XVI Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Slate
18th Century French Carved Walnut Desk on Legs with Slant Top and Inside Storage
Located in Dallas, TX
Place a large book, architect plans, or even a Bible on this antique lectern cabinet; crafted in France circa 1790, the fruitwood piece stands on four s...
Category
Late 18th Century French Louis XIV Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Small Oak Bureau
Located in Folkestone, GB
A rare 18th century oak bureau of particularly small and diminutive proportions. the fall with a moulded book-rest, opening to reveal a steppe...
Category
Early 18th Century English George II Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Oak
18th Century French Rococo Library Table
Located in Mjöhult, SE
Exceptional 18th century Rococo centre library table in it's original color with great finish. Incredibly rare piece due to the length and condition. Ca 1750 France.
Category
18th Century French Rococo Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
18th Century Country French Neoclassical Secretary
Located in Dallas, TX
18th Century Country French neoclassical secretary is a splendid example of the genre, dating to the reign of Louis XVI himself! The period saw ...
Category
Late 18th Century French Louis XVI Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
French 18th Century Louis XV Period Bureau Plat
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A magnificent and very high quality French 18th century Louis XV period Tulipwood, Kingwood, and ormolu Bureau Plat desk. The desk is raised by elegant cabriole leg with exquisite pierced fitted ormolu sabots with fine foliate designs and hoof feet below a delicate ormolu chute leading upwards to impressive richly chased ormolu masks of handsome bearded men. The apron displays three drawers separated by impressive curved foliate gadroon designs each displaying superb quarter veneered Kingwood...
Category
18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
Unique Walnut Desk by Melchiorre Bega, 1940
Located in Berlin, DE
Extraordinary, sculptural walnut desk by Melchiorre Bega, originally designed in 1940.
Melchiorre Bega was born in Caselle di Crevalcore (BO) in 1898. He graduated in Architecture...
Category
1940s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Cathedra Desk with Beautiful Original Lacquering
Located in Cesena, FC
Original lacquered cathedra desk, of rare beauty.
Period: mid 1700s
Originally from the marche region
It has in the front 2 doors as if it were a sideboard
Measures: cm 152x...
Category
Mid-18th Century Italian Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
18th Century French Walnut Writing Table
Located in High Point, NC
18th century walnut writing table with a banded and beveled edge around the top, following down to a simple apron containing a singl...
Category
Late 18th Century French Louis XVI Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
English Regency Mahogany Leather Reading Table with Flanking Candle Slides 1790
Located in Hollywood, SC
English Regency mahogany satinwood and ebony inlaid one drawer reading table with a ratcheted leather top, cross banded tulip wood, flanking candle slides...
Category
1790s English Regency Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
Table, 18th Century, Italian, Baroque, Walnut, Narrow, One Piece Top
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
A rare, narrow, Italian, baroque, walnut, cabinet or sidetable.
This table has unusual, narrow proportions and was probably originally conceived as a stand for a table cabinet or ...
Category
Early 18th Century Italian Baroque Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Sidetable Mahogany Stringing Crossbanded Box Vernacular 18Century Flame Figuring
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
- An elegant and sophisticated vernacular piece with the crossbanding and unusual stringing around edge of the top and down the outside edge of the legs
- The top with fine flame fi...
Category
1790s English George III Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany
Table Solid Cypress Chestnut and Fir Two-Tone Italian Natural Honey Color
Located in Buggiano, IT
Uncommon Table in solid cypress, chestnut and fir, two-tone, Italian, natural honey-colored top, very sturdy, with drawer.
Shellac and wax finish.
Very sturdy and solid.
Legroom in...
Category
1940s Italian Rustic Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Fir, Chestnut, Cypress
Antique Italian Money-Changers Desk with Hidden Storage
Located in London, GB
An 17-18th century antique desk.
Likely Italian, but sourced in France.
Solid oak with a marble inset top.
An exceptional table with crafty hidden sliding storage, accessed by a thick high quality decorative key, which is matched by the internal lock.
Once unlocked the top can be slid back to reveal the hidden storage...
Category
Early 18th Century European Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Oak
Arnold Madsen Club Legged Desk / Table in Beech, Scandinavian Modern, 1940s
Located in Odense, DK
Early and important desk attributed to Danish designer Arnold Madsen. The club-shaped legs are made from solid pieces of hand turned beechwood and resembles the legs on Madsens famou...
Category
1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Beech
Side Table or Writing Table from the XVIII Century in Walnut
Located in Brussels, Brussels
lovely side table or small writing table from the 18th century Louis XV in walnut
Very nice little table which has a drawer in the belt and a beautiful walnut table top with a sup...
Category
18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
18th Century Rustic Country French Cherrywood Desk ~ Vanity
Located in Dallas, TX
18th Century Rustic Country French Cherrywood Desk ~ Vanity is a splendid example of rural craftsmanship at its finest! Utilizing old-growth che...
Category
Late 18th Century French Rustic Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
Italian Rococo Writing Table
By Guiseppe Biondo
Located in Greenwich, CT
Fine Italian walnut rococo writing table, the lovely faded olive inset leather top with gilt tooled edge and thumb molded walnut banding over molded frieze with single drawer, the ap...
Category
1780s Italian Rococo Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Leather, Poplar, Walnut
Pierre Jeanneret PJ-BU-19-A Administration Desk / Authentic Mid-Century Modern
Located in Zürich, CH
This desk is raw in its simplicity, embodying an expressing the pure ideas of Pierre Jeanneret. It is a very strong piece which I love very much, it’s limited to the elements it need...
Category
Early 1600s Indian Mid-Century Modern Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Teak
Louis XV Fruitwood and Marquetry Writing Table, 'Mid-18th Century'
Located in London, GB
A Louis XV ormolu-mounted bois satine and fruitwood marquetry writing table. Adjustable writing slide with black leather panel, gilt-tooled with central motif; full length drawer wit...
Category
Mid-18th Century French French Provincial Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
DC-3 ‘Dakota’ Wingtip Desk
Located in London, GB
The Douglas DC-3 was designed in the mid-1930s as a passenger and freight aircraft, but built during the war years 1941-1945 in large numbers, as the DC-3 (C47) Transport Plane known...
Category
1940s American Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Aluminum
Antique Queen Anne Early 18th Century Inlaid Burr Walnut Escritoire Desk Chest
Located in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
Antique fine quality Queen Anne early 18th Century inlaid burr walnut escritoire, desk or chest. A wonderfully honest quality period piece.
Solid ...
Category
Early 18th Century Queen Anne Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
White Swedish Gustavian Wall Table and Desk
Located in Kramfors, SE
White Gustavian table made in northern Sweden between 1790 and 1810. The table is an early example of compact living where one item has multiple uses. This table has a folding tablet...
Category
Late 18th Century Swedish Gustavian Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Pine
Early George III Walnut Kneehole Desk
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
An early George III walnut kneehole desk, the shaped rectangular top quarter veneered with re-entrant corners and herring bone cross-banding, with one long drawer above a disguised d...
Category
1760s English George III Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
18th Century Swedish Gustavian Writing Table
Located in Kramfors, SE
Gustavian table from northern Sweden in untouched original condition. The table is from the years circa 1780-1790 with traces of thin paint on the frame and a white painted tabletop....
Category
Late 18th Century Swedish Gustavian Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Pine
18th Century George III Mahogany Pedestal Desk
Located in Dublin 8, IE
18th century George III mahogany pedestal desk. With green-leather top and large centred drawer flanked by two smaller drawers, abov...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany, Leather
Small Georgian Elm Bureau
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A delightful early 18th century George I Period Elm
bureau of diminutive proportions having well figured
fall front enclosing drawers and pigeon holes over
two short and three lo...
Category
Early 18th Century English George I Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Elm
1940s Writing Table, with Drawers and Gilded Bronzes, Italy
Located in Cuneo, Italy (CN)
Tavolo scrittoio anni '40, in bellissimo legno chiaro lastronato, massello e intarsiato con trama geometrica, originale con cassettini e bronzi dorati come arricchimento, costruito i...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Austrian Neoclassic Parquetry Pedestal Desk
Located in Essex, MA
Rectangular top over a long drawer flanked by small drawers over pedestals each with two drawers. Bracket feet. Finished all around in a design of inlay that gives a striped effect.
Category
Late 18th Century Austrian Neoclassical Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Osvaldo Borsani Wooden Desk Covered with Parchment Steel Handles 1940 Italy
Located in Milano, IT
Desk Wood Parchment. The plan has so esattamente shortcomings.
Category
1940s European Other Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Parchment Paper, Carbon Fiber
Baroque Table, Switzerland, 1770
Located in Belmont, MA
Baroque table, Switzerland, 1770.
This pretty Baroque table dates back to the Rococo period and comes from Berne in Switzerland. The base with the curved legs is made of cherry wood....
Category
1770s Swiss Baroque Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Cherry, Kingwood
Paul Frankl Rare Kidney Desk in Mahogany, Birch, Leather and Brass, USA, 1950s
Located in New York, NY
Paul Frankl for Johnson Furniture Company of Grand Rapids rare exquisite desk from Station Wagon Group, USA, 1940s. This organic desk consists of two separate parts - desk top in rich mahogany and three drawer cabinet in mahogany and birch with leather and brass pulls. This modernist design has beautiful and playful elements which allow modifications in orientation. The desk top with legs rests on the cabinet through the use of a circular birch column which can be adjusted anywhere on the cabinet top to create different angles in the configuration and different overall lengths. Truly an iconic design, this chic desk exemplifies Frankl early use of biomorphic form. Branded mark "JOHNSON FURNITURE CO. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH."
Adjustable desk length: 55-66 in
Desk top including legs measurements: H 28.25 x W 48 x D 23.5 in
Cabinet measurements...
Category
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
George 11nd small Kneehole Desk in Mahogany, English Circa 1745
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
This is a fine original antique kneehole desk or dressing table from the mid-18th century, thought to have the provenance of being part of the es...
Category
Mid-18th Century English George II Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Antique 18th Century American Chippendale Maple Secretary Desk Writing Bureau
Located in Dayton, OH
Exquisite and Rare antique American Chippendale Period secretary writing desk or Escritoire. Made from maple featuring a flip top that ope...
Category
18th Century Chippendale Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Maple
Early Dunbar Leather Curved Desk and Chair by Edward Wormley
Located in Dallas, TX
An early design by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Original lilac leather and bleached mahogany curved desk with built in bookshelves. The drawers are hinged and swing open. The original ...
Category
1940s Vintage Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Leather
Late 17th Century Spanish Renaissance Style Walnut Writing Table, Iron Stretcher
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This late 17th century Spanish Renaissance writing table is constructed of solid walnut and features an impressive 30-inch wide top made from a single plank of walnut. The top joins ...
Category
Late 17th Century French Renaissance Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Iron
French 18th Century Louis XV Period Kingwood, Tulipwood and Ormolu Desk
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A most elegant and extremely high quality French 18th century Louis XV period Kingwood, Tulipwood, and ormolu desk circa. 1750. The Bureau à Cylindre desk...
Category
18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
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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