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Desks and Writing Tables

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Desks and Writing Tables For Sale
Period: 1950s
Period: Late 19th Century
Lovely Victorian circa 1880 English Panelled Hardwood Twin Pedestal Partner Desk
Located in GB
We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely English paneled Mahogany Victorian Circa 1880 twin pedestal partner desk with original fittings and brass castors A good looking an...
Category

1880s English Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Hardwood

French Kingwood Bureau Plat, 19th Century, Regence-Style with Leather Top
Located in Houston, TX
This desk is 19 th century and has the original aged patina. The writing surface is rectangular and has a new black leather With gilt accents that has been added to the top. The w...
Category

Late 19th Century French Regency Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Kingwood

19th Century French Black Forest Carved Oak Writing Desk With Barley Twist Legs
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional antique Henri II or Renaissance Revival ornate carved oak Black Forest writing desk France, Late 19th Century Beautiful ornate carved oak, with barley twist legs...
Category

Late 19th Century French Black Forest Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Antique French Burr Walnut Sevres & Ormolu Mounted Writing Table Desk 19th C
Located in London, GB
This is an elegant antique French ormolu mounted burr walnut writing table, Circa 1870 in date. This lovely shaped top is crafted from the most beautiful burr walnut, with amboyn...
Category

1870s French Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

Rare Early American Country Pyrography Desk
Located in Forney, TX
A rare, one-of-a-kind antique American folk decorated desk with beautifully aged distressed patina found in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Hand-crafted in the Southern United States in the late 19th century, featuring elaborate hand carving and pyrography wood burning decoration in classical motif, kneehole desk form with raised gallery dated "1899", having a topped with a single door cabinet, supported by two columns of three drawers. Provenance / Acquisition: Found in a Mt. Juliet, Tennessee farmhouse Acquired from highly reputable auction house, Bright Star Antiques, Sulfur Springs, Texas. Specializing in early American antiques...
Category

Late 19th Century American Folk Art Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Antique English Victorian Carlton House Painted Library Writing Desk Vinyl Top
Located in Dayton, OH
"A lovely antique late Victorian Carlton House writing desk or library table. Features a ""D"" form with seven drawers, lockable hutch compartment and green vinyl work surface. Ornately designed with a putti or cherub carving a long the knee-hole and tassel / ribboned medallion backing. The desk is supported by four reeded and tapered legs leading to peg feet. Front corners have a neat wrap around leaf motif. Finished in an Antique White that was painted in the 1940s. Hardware is brass. A Carlton House desk is a specific antique desk form within the more general bureau gradin...
Category

Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Hardwood, Paint

19th Century American Chippendale Writing Desk
Located in Nashville, TN
This 19th century American chippendale desk is a true masterpiece that will make a statement in any home or office. Made from solid mahogany,...
Category

1880s American Chippendale Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Writing Table Kingwood and Satinwood by Henry Dasson Late 19th Century
Located in SAINT-JEAN-CAP-FERRAT, FR
The table contains a shaped top with inset gilt-tooled brown leather above a frieze drawer. The reverse side has a false drawer, each side is cornered with a telamon mount, the top s...
Category

Late 19th Century French Other Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Kingwood, Satinwood

Very Rare and Original Writing Table PK53 by Poul Kjaerholm for Rud Rasmussen
Located in Little Burstead, Essex
This stunning example is in museum condition, all completely original, not perfect, but very nicely used, the Oregon Pie top has a wonderful patine, with no real digs or scratches. T...
Category

1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Table Ouija, Used for Séances, United States, 1870
Located in Milan, IT
A small table for séances, also called mediumistic. The ouija board, made of wood, with a wavy edge, has a surface Flat black, resting on a central base ...
Category

Late 19th Century American Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Antique 19th Century French Writing Table / Desk by Victor Aimone Carved Walnut
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
This exquisite Renaissance writing table / desk by Victor Aimone was crafted in 1890 from solid walnut wood. It features four stunning Gryphons that have been masterfully carved into...
Category

Late 19th Century French Renaissance Revival Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Scandinavian Modern Desk by Kurt Olsen, Denmark, 1950s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Elegant rosewood desk by Kurt Olsen, in a neat size. Sleek, sophisticated lines with rounded angles. Two drawers.
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Rosewood

Fine Quality 1890s English Adams Paint Decorated Carlton House 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

1890s English Adam Style Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Satinwood

19th Century Chinese Altar Table
Located in Chicago, IL
A captivating 19th century Chinese elmwood altar table with two drawers, simple square tapered legs ending in horse-hoof feet, and with a well-worn sangre-de-boeuf lacquer. The perfe...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Rustic Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Elm

French Rococo Style Bureau Plat
Located in Kastrup, DK
An elegant French rococo style bureau plat writing desk made in walnut with ormolu accents. Features a top with a tooled leather writing-surface w...
Category

Late 19th Century French Rococo Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Fine Victorian Jas Shoolbred Green Marble Topped Watchmakers Desk Writing Table
Located in GB
We are is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning original Victorian circa 1880 James Jas Shoolbred Watchmakers table / desk with green ...
Category

1880s European High Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble, Brass

Stunning Jewellers Table and Chair, France, 19th Century
Located in London, GB
Stunning French 19th century jewellery maker's table with lovely layers of time worn patina. Wonderful unique ergomonic cut out and primitive design. A small pivoting / hidden silver...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

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

Bodil Kjaer Executive Free Standing Desk for E. Pedersen & Son Denmark
Located in WIJCKEL, NL
Bodil Kjaer large freestanding rosewood executive desk, model 901 with chrome-plated metal frame, cassette top with four recessed drawers. Produced by E. Pedersen & Søn, Denmark. Manufacturer’s label to the underside. Key included. The rosewood is Santos rosewood, no CITES export document is applicable. The desk featured in the 1960s in the New York Times and The Sunday Times. It became even more famous when it was in some of the first James Bond films: ‘From Russia with love’ & ‘You only live twice’. The desk also appeared prominently in BBC election broadcasts. Literature: Mobilia, June 1961. Young executives that Bodil Kjær encountered in her work in architecture and design in the late 1950es were open, creative and flexible in their way of working. So, she reasoned that it would be counter-productive for them to be offered traditional office furniture, and set out to design a system of office units...
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Nanna & Jørgen Ditzel for Poul Kold Savvaerk Desk Model ‘135’ in Wenge
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Nanna & Jørgen Ditzel for Poul Kold Savvaerk, desk model ‘135’, wenge, Denmark, design 1958 Freestanding desk designed by Nanna & Jørgen Ditzel in 1958. The symmetric arrangement ...
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wenge

Antique French Cherry Wood Kitchen Table or Small Desk or Writing Table Restored
Located in Chicago, IL
Antique Country French Small kitchen table or nice size small writing table or desk. Single drawer on one-side with hand-cut dovetail construction....
Category

1890s French Country Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood, Cherry

Arne Jacobsen Rosewood and Steel Writing Desk FH3605, Danish, Designed 1955
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Arne Jacobsen, FH 3605 writing desk, designed 1955 and made by Fritz Hansen, Denmark, in rosewood with detachable aluminium legs with oval rosewood caps. Fitted two drawers to one si...
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Vintage Desk in Cherrywood by Paolo Buffa, 1950s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Extraordinary Cherrywood desk/writing table with crossing legs by Paolo Buffa. This table has approximately 70 years and has been restored as you can s...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Cherry

Pierre Jeanneret Student Desk and Library Chair
Located in New York, NY
Excellent example of a student desk and library chair from Chandigarh India circa late 1950s. Exceptional patina on the wood including various name inscriptions from young studen...
Category

1950s Indian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Jacques Quinet Desk
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Incredible Jacques Quinet Executive desk, circa 1950s Rich caramel leather with contrast open stitching and fully swiveling drawers on both sides including a filing cabinet with lea...
Category

1950s French Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Walnut

Antique Edwardian Kidney Writing Table Desk Secret Drawers 19th C
Located in London, GB
This is a fabulous quality antique Edwardian kidney shaped mahogany writing table by Maple & Co, circa 1890 in date. The shaped top is cross banded in various exotic specimen wood...
Category

1890s English Edwardian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Mahogany

Mahogany Kidney Shaped 19th Century Writing Table
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A quite exceptional quality late 19th century mahogany kidney shaped writing table, having gilt tooled decoration to leather inset top, over one drawer to frieze, with superb marquet...
Category

Late 19th Century English Late Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Arne Vodder Boomerang Desk Teak & Brass 1956 Bovirke Denmark Mid Century Modern
Located in Munster, NRW
Arne Vodder 1956 for Bovirke, Denmark rare Boomerang desk ’Model BO85’ in teak with brass handles This desk was designed by Arne Vodder for Bovirke. The desk has an organically shaped table...
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Paul Mccobb Desk for Calvin
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Rare architectural walnut and stone desk designed by Paul Mccobb for Calvin Furniture in the early 1950's. The left hand pedestal features a slide out work surface, a small drawer...
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Stone, Brass

Antique English Burled Walnut & Mahogany Ladies Roll Top Desk Circa 1890
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique English ladies desk offers burled walnut and mahogany construction with roll top opening to writing surface and storage compartments ove...
Category

Late 19th Century English Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany, Walnut, Burl

Antique Victorian Inlaid Mahogany Pedestal Desk, 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a superb antique Late Victorian Flame mahogany string inlaid and satinwood crossbanded pedestal kneehole desk, circa 1880 in date. It is made from fabulous flame mahogany...
Category

1880s English Victorian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany, Satinwood

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...
Category

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

Materials

Fruitwood, Walnut

Fine English 19th Century Adam Style Polychrome Painted Satinwood Vanity Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine English 19th century Adam style Polychrome painted satinwood vanity table. The ornately decorated cabinet surmounted with an easel mirror flanked by a pair of storage compartments centered with oval paintings, all above five top drawers, the front serpentine apron with a large drawer and raised on four tapering legs conjoined with an "X" stretcher centered with an oval storage...
Category

Late 19th Century Adam Style Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mirror, Satinwood

scrivania in radica design - 1950 - mid century - desk - design
Located in Milano, MI
scrivania in radica design - 1950 - mid century - desk - design Caratteristiche Produzione: italiana Periodo: 1950 - 1959 Paese produzione: Italia Essenza principale: radi...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Very Fine 19th Century Louis XVI Roll Top Desk by Paul Sormani
Located in Dallas, TX
A very fine 19th century French Louis XVI kingwood and tulipwood marquetry rolltop desk. Fine gilt bronze mounts with a beautiful marble top. Signed Paul Sormani.
Category

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

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Antique Diminutive Burl & Mahogany Davenport Desk with Watercolor Panels, c1880
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique diminutive davenport desk offers burl and mahogany construction with upper pierced bronze gallery over slant front desk having watercolor...
Category

Late 19th Century Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Arne Jacobsen Danish Modern Drop-Leaf Table Model "AJ-3601", Fritz Hansen, 1950s
Located in Odense, DK
Wonderful small drop-leaf table in teak plywood and steel. Danish designer Arne Jacobsen’s masterpiece "AJ3601" made to accompany his famous "ant" chairs also manufactured by Fritz H...
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Maison-Jansen Attributed French Leather, Top Bureau Plat Desk
Located in New York, NY
Vintage French leather top bureau plat desk with pull-out slides. The table extends 12.5" on each side for a total of overall W 72.25" when slides are fully open.
Category

1950s French Louis XVI Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Davenport Desk, Germany, 1870
Located in Belmont, MA
Introducing a delightful German Davenport desk dating back to 1870. This small and narrow desk showcases a distinctive design with an inclined top table and a convenient box with a lid. Its unique shape corresponds to the renowned typology known as the Davenport desk, named after Captain Davenport...
Category

1870s German Louis Philippe Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Elegant Desk in Blackened Wood and Leather circa 1950 Patina to Be Redone, Leath
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Elegant desk in blackened wood and leather, circa 1950 Patina to be redone, leather to be changed.
Category

1950s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Wood

19th Century Spanish Baroque Oak Desk, Console
Located in Wiesbaden, DE
19th century Spanish antique oak desk, writting table with two drawers. This elegant console was crafted in Spain, circa 1900, it featur...
Category

Late 19th Century Spanish Renaissance Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Pierre Chapo B19 Desk in Solid Elm, France 1960s
Located in ABCOUDE, UT
Stunning solid elmwood desk by the French designer Pierre Chapo. With characteristic wood-joints, which are Chapo's trademark. The B19 desk is a desk that ca...
Category

1950s Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Elm

French Renaissance Revival Writing Table
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
French Renaissance Revival Writing Table.
Category

1870s French Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

A.R.P. Writing Desk Edition Minvielle France, 1955
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Rare and collectible desk designed by A.R.P. (Atelier de Recherches Plastiques) and manufactured by Minvielle, France 1955. Studio A.R.P. was an association between three talented de...
Category

1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Bertha Schaefer for Singer and Sons Italian Walnut Asymmetrical Desk
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Diminutive midcentury angled student desk in Italian walnut designed by Bertha Schaefer for M. Singer & Sons (Model 2162 - USA, ca. 1955). Often co-attributed to Gio Ponti, who also...
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

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.
Category

1880s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

SALE 19th Century French Louis XVI Mahogany Inlaid Ladies Desk Brass Ornaments
Located in Sofia, BG
This is a beautiful antique French mahogany inlaid Ladies writing desk made circa 1890. The fall front opens to reveal an interior of leather writing surface, and bank of three drawe...
Category

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

Materials

Mahogany

Borge Mogensen Drop-Leaf Office or Dining Table in Teak and Steel Denmark
Located in WIJCKEL, NL
Danish Modernism free-standing office desk or dining table, model 206 by Borge Morgensen, made of fined teak top and matte chrome-plated steel fra...
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Italian Small Writing Desk in Mahogany
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Small writing desk, mahogany, brass, Italy, 1950s. Sculptural Italian desk with beautiful curved top. This writing table is both refined and elega...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Helmut Magg Desk for WK Möbel, Germany, 1950s
Located in Wrocław, Poland
This desk was designed by Helmut Magg in 1950s and produced by Neue Gemeinschaft für Wohnkultur, WK Möbel and still has the original label in one of the drawers. The design is simple...
Category

1950s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Cherry, Maple

Elegant Italian Desk Convertible into Sewing Machine
Located in Milano, IT
Elegant Italian desk convertible into sewing machine from the 1950s. The desk through its shapes and lines is very reminiscent of Gio Ponti's design line. The desk is made by the Vigorelli ( of Pavia) manufactory. The small desk has in the left side five pull-out drawers and the top one has a key. In the right leg we have a door that can be opened by knob with the sewing machine mechanism inside. At the base we find a cast-iron riser...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal, Iron

Vintage Industrial Jean Prouvé Style One Seat School Desk
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Wonderful Vintage Industrial school desk. In the style of Jean Prouvé Striking French design from the 1950s /60s. Green lacquered met...
Category

1950s French Industrial Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Mid-Century Italian Modern Single-Pedestal Rosewood Desk by Stildomus
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Single-pedestal rosewood desk with ebonized legs and chrome-plated brass recessed pulls by Stildomus (ca. 1950s, Italy). Features three dove-tailed drawers with interior dimensions...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass, Chrome

Nanna Ditzel Desk Produced by Søren Willadsen in Denmark
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Rare freestanding desk with 3 drawers designed by Nanna Ditzel. Produced by Søren Willadsen in Denmark.
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Rosewood

Louis XVI Style Desk Made by Paul Sormani
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Elegant Louis XVI style desk made by Paul Sormani (1817-1877). Made of veneered wood and gilt bronze sheathed on top of a patiné havane leather. Molded and decorated on all sides wit...
Category

1870s French Louis XVI Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Arts and Crafts Desk in Oak
Located in Whaley Bridge, GB
Sn5363 Stylish Arts and Crafts solid oak desk, having oversailing top and a frieze drawer above carved book compartments, standing on substantial soli...
Category

Late 19th Century Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Arne Jacobsen Black Egg Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Arne Jacobsen egg table. Newly refinished ebonized black finish. Perfect to use in a small dining area or as a writing desk. Great classic Dani...
Category

1950s Danish Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Bonheur Du Jour Cylinder Desk Louis XVI Style
Located in SAINTE-COLOMBE, FR
Bonheur Du Jour cylinder desk Louis XVI Style This beautifully crafted Bonheur Du Jour Cylinder desk in mahogany is in the style of Paul Sorman...
Category

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

Materials

Brass

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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