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Desks and Writing Tables

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Desks and Writing Tables For Sale
Period: 20th Century
Period: 1910s
Vintage Italian Walnut and Satin Wood Desk
Located in London, GB
A superb vintage Italian walnut and satin wood desk, dating from the 1950-60’s. It is beautifully designed and is of superb quality, standing on wonderful tapered legs with brass fe...
Category

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

Materials

Satinwood

Vintage Swedish Teak Desk
Located in London, GB
A very stylish and extremely well made vintage Swedish teak desk. This was recently imported from Sweden, it dates from the 1960’s. The quality is outstanding, this has an interesti...
Category

1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Executive Desk by Jules Wabbes for Mobilier Universel, Belgium, 1950s
Located in Antwerp, BE
Executive desk designed by Jules Wabbes and manufactured by Mobilier Universel in the 1960s. This exclusive desk bears the hallmark of Jules Wabbes, a celebrated Belgian furniture de...
Category

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

Materials

Steel

1930's Modernist Desk by Jindrich Halabala for UP Brno
Located in Brno, CZ
An original Modernist desk from the 1930s. This piece has a dignified design with stylish proportions and details together with a dazzling Walnut pattern and dark brown Oak. This wr...
Category

1930s Czech Bauhaus Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Beech, Walnut

Table, 20th Century, Fuctionalist Style
Located in Lučenec, SK
This table is of a sought-after style. It is suitable for an office or private study.
Category

1920s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Restored Bauhaus Writing Desk, by André Lurcat, Walnut, New Polish, Czech, 1930s
Located in Horomerice, CZ
Restored Bauhaus Writing Desk Catalog model: PS 8 Material: Walnut, Chrome-plated Steel Source: Czechia (Czechoslovakia) Period: 1930-1939 This desk was designed by French modernis...
Category

1930s Czech Bauhaus Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Stand/Sit Desk or Worktable
Located in VUGHT, NL
Great industrial eye-catcher as a work station in a hip company or the man cave. But also as a presentation place for a special (museum) object would be a great function! The start...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Antique Derby School Paneled Oak Roll Top Desk with Full Interior, C1900
By Derby Desk Company
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique roll top desk offers paneled quarter sawn oak construction with s-top opening to full interior over base with flanking drawer towers h...
Category

Early 20th Century American Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Willy Van Der Meeren Desk for Tubax, circa 1950, Formica, Metal, Wood, 38 Avai
Located in Brussels, BE
Willy Van Der Meeren desk for Tubax, circa 1950, Formica, metal, wood- 38 available.  
Category

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

Materials

Metal

Guillerme et Chambron, Rare Desk, Edition Votre Maison, circa 1950/1960
Located in Mouscron, WHT
Guillerme et Chambron, rare desk, Edition Votre Maison, circa 1950/1960.
Category

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

Materials

Oak, Faux Leather

American Drafting Table
Located in New York, NY
Adjustable wood top, cast iron base drafting table. This table adjusts in height from tallest position (42") to lowest (30.5") and the to...
Category

Early 20th Century American Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Iron

French, Oak Child's School Desk c. 1900's
Located in London, GB
This French 1900's Oak child's school desk is a rare find that exudes immense character. The desk bears the markings of many children who have used it over the years, adding to its c...
Category

Early 1900s French French Provincial Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Alvar Aalto Mahogany Desk for Artek with Drawers and Pull Out Work Surfaces
Located in Chicago, IL
The model #500 mahogany desk designed by Alvar Aalto, made in Sweden for Artek, Finland. Six drawers with two pull-out work surface boards. A nice example...
Category

1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Antique A. Lietz Co. Maple Wood and Cast Iron Drafting Table c.1940-1947
Located in San Francisco, CA
ABOUT A fully adjustable industrial drafting table with Maple wood top and cast iron base and knobs. Cast iron bases have the maker's mark on both sides. Two original metal labels o...
Category

Early 20th Century American Industrial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Iron

Early 20th C. Louis XVI Petite Desk/ Writing Table
Located in East Hampton, NY
A wonderful early 20th Century French Louis XVI style writing desk in ebonized black finish. Dating to around the 1940’s with original brass mounts and leather top. This is the epi...
Category

Early 20th Century French French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Wood

60s desk, Frattini style
Located in Felino, IT
60's desk, in the style of G.Frattini for Bernini. made by Italian craftsman, inspired by the mod 530 of the Bernini company. all veneered in rosewood. very detailed. 5 drawers of wh...
Category

1960s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Writing Desk with Marquetry Top in Walnut
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Writing table, walnut, The Netherlands, 1940s An elegant furniture piece that attests to masterful craftsmanship. Its marquetry top, adorned with a captivating array of various wood...
Category

1940s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Vintage Danish Mid Century Modern Teak Desk
Located in Gardiner, NY
Authentic vintage mid century Danish / Scandinavian Modern teak desk. This piece is in excellent refinished condition with few signs of age-related wear (see photos). If you would ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Jacques Adnet writing desk made in France 1950
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Beautiful avant garde desk designed by Jacques Adnet and manufactured in his own atelier in France in the 1950s. The frame is made from solid brass and it's all wrapped in soft black...
Category

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

Materials

Brass

Scandinavian Modern Teak Executive Desk
Located in Trenton, NJ
This Vintage Scandinavian Modern Teak Executive Desk from Jesper Furniture makes a timeless masterpiece that combines elegant design with exceptional craftsmanship. Crafted with rich...
Category

Late 20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Arne Vodder Executive Teak Desk for Sibast Denmark
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A dark teakwood executive desk with three drawers to each side and inset finger pulls to the fronts, the back side has two small bookcase cubies . The perfect desk for home or office...
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Peter Lovig Nielsen Flip Top Executive Desk in Rosewood
Located in Seattle, WA
Extremely rare Flip top partner's desk by Peter Lovig Nielsen in rosewood with brass fittings. Retains original trays for the upper level cubbies. The top shelf of the desk flips dow...
Category

1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Rare Mid Century Italian Grissinato Desk In The Style Of Gio Ponti
Located in Westport, CT
Wonderful Modernist fruitwood desk shown with its original grey laminate top which we have covered in a new black glass top above an angular base consisting of two grissinato drawers...
Category

1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Fruitwood

Desk By Guy Lefèvre - Metal & Wood - Ca 1970
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Elegant desk by Guy Lefèvre dating from the 1970s. Its chrome metal structure and black lacquered wooden box are typical of the French style of the 1970s. Just like Maison Jansen, Ro...
Category

1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Giancarlo Piretti, Platone Folding Desk for Anonima Castelli, 1971
Located in London, GB
One of the most influential Italian designers of the twentieth century, Giancarlo Piretti’s chair designs – for which he is most celebrated – have sold millions worldwide. Piretti’s...
Category

1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel, Chrome

1900s French Wooden Desk
Located in High Point, NC
Step back into the quaint charm of the 1900s with this authentic French wooden desk. With its warm, honeyed patina, this piece carries the rich glow of history within its solid, time...
Category

20th Century French Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

1970s Wooden and Wicker Writing Desk with Folding Top and Drawers
Located in Marbella, ES
1970s Wooden and Wicker Writing Desk with Folding Top and Drawers
Category

Late 20th Century Spanish Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wicker, Wood

Restored Bauhaus Writing Desk, by Robert Slezák, Walnut, Chrome, Czech, 1930s
Located in Horomerice, CZ
Dimensions of the table: Height: 76 cm (29.9 in) Width: 150 cm (59.1 in) Depth: 75 cm (29.5 in) Leg space: Height: 71 cm (28 in) Width: 57 cm (22.4 in) Luxurious desk design in Cau...
Category

Early 20th Century Czech Bauhaus Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Mastercraft Brass 'Trilobi' Triangular Dining Table or Desk Bases, circa 1970
Located in Los Angeles, CA
One of the hottest items currently with interior designers are these gleaming brass 'Trilobi' Mastercraft dining table bases, which also work excellent for a desk or work table, feature a hefty triangular design with sculpted ends. The gorgeous brass displays subtle signs of an admirable patina, which can be highly desirable, bringing more vibrancy to this set of 1970s brass table bases by Mastercraft. And most importantly - these are authentic vintage examples... there is now an inferior (but still pricey) knock-off by RH and many dealers do not know how to spot the difference and will sell the fakes as authentic. We have owned and sold over 30 of these over the course of the last 10 years and can guarantee the ones we offer are authentic 'originals' of the design by Mastercraft. *Please note, the table bases in this listing are priced individually. **In addition, the Trilobi bases in the photos have already sold, however we two more in similar condition that are en route to us now and are available for pre-sale. Please message us with any questions. You can use a single base for a round or square top. Looks excellent with glass or marble tops - we can assist in the production of a new glass or stone top - contact us for more details. Or you can pair 2, 3 or even all 4 bases together to form a larger dining table, conference table or desk with a large rectangular or oval top. These Mastercraft brass 'Trilobi' dining table bases would be great as part of a classic or contemporary dining room, living room, family room, sunroom or kitchen. These Triboli tables would also be an apt choice in a corporate, retail or hospitality location such as a boutique restaurant...
Category

1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Rectangular Table or Desk in Solid Wengé
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Dining table or desk, solid wengé, Northern Europe, 1960s This rectangular shaped table is completely executed in solid wengé. The corpus is structured in a horizontal manner, whic...
Category

1960s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wenge

Studio BBPR for Olivetti 'Spazio' Multifunctional Table
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Studio BBPR for Olivetti, 'Spazio' table, coated steel, plastic, vinyl, Italy, 1960s. In 1954, Olivetti, the Italian office equipment manufacturer, hir...
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Mid Century MODERN WALNUT DESK by Founders Furniture Co., c. 1960's
Located in Weehawken, NJ
Mid Century Modern Walnut Desk by Founders Furniture Co., c. 1960's. Featuring a total of five dovetailed drawers with sculpted hand pulls and a laminate woodgrain tabletop, perfect ...
Category

1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Mid-Century Post Modern Black & Brass Desk after Gilbert Rohde in Art Deco Form
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A simple modern nod to the art deco period. This desk features glossy black laminate with brass accents. Probably Italian circa 1980's. Nice clean original condition.
Category

1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Great English Partner Desk/Writing Desk 20th Century, Mahogany
Located in Berlin, DE
Great English Partner Desk/Writing Desk 20th Century, Mahogany Solid mahogany, partially veneered. Three-drawer frame profiled on both sides, slightly protruding table top. Writing ...
Category

20th Century English Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Art Deco Secretaire by Jacques Adnet
Located in Miami, FL
This secretaire desk was designed by Jacques Adnet, and was made in Tamo Ash Wood. The style of this secretaire features sleek lines, geometric shapes and a ...
Category

Early 20th Century French Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Ash

Great English partner desk, writing desk, mahogany
Located in Berlin, DE
Great English partner desk, desk 1870, mahogany Solid mahogany, partially veneered. Three-drawer frame profiled on both sides, slightly protruding table top. Writing surface decorat...
Category

20th Century English Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Dakota Jackson French Art Deco Postmodern Mahogany Executive Partners Desk 96"
Located in Dayton, OH
Vintage Dakota Jackson post modern Art Deco style executive partners desk featuring mahogany with leather insert and stainless steel frame. A V-Shape pattern veneer top with Black Leather inset. 2 pedestal cabinets below: each with 2 standard drawers and 1 file drawer, front and back. Polished Stainless Steel drawer pulls, post, floor plates, and arced trestle supporting desktop. DJ Chelsea Black Leather, Polished Polyresin finish. Dakota Jackson (born August 24, 1949) is an American furniture designer known for his eponymous furniture brand, Dakota Jackson, Inc.,[1] his early avant-garde works involving moving parts or hidden compartments,[2][3] and his collaborations with the Steinway & Sons piano company.[1] Jackson helped establish the art furniture movement in 1970s SoHo,[4][5] later becoming a celebrity designer in the 1980s.[6][7][8] His background in the world of stage magic helped him get his first commissions and is often cited as the source of his point-of-view.[6][9] Early life Dakota Jackson was born on August 24, 1949, and grew up in the Rego Park neighborhood of Queens, New York. Stage Magic Jackson's father, Jack Malon, was a professional magician.[10] Mr. Malon learned the trade from his own father, who studied stage magic in early 20th century Poland.[1] Jackson began studying magic at a young age and sometimes performed with his father.[11] Jackson's name, in fact, grew out of a road trip to Fargo, North Dakota.[11] Throughout his adolescence and into his early 20s, Jackson immersed himself in the world of magic.[2] In 1963, Jackson began to perform in talent shows at his junior high school, William Cowper JHS 73 (which is known today as The Frank Sansivieri Intermediate School),[12] and at children's birthday parties.[13] Jackson also began to build his own props, including large boxes for sawing a woman in half and small boxes from which doves would emerge in full flight.[11] Jackson acknowledges the importance of these early experiences with magic to his later career as a furniture designer: "The demands of performance taught me how to discipline myself to achieve aesthetic ends."[1][2][14] After Jackson graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1967, he continued performing as a magician, working in art galleries, night clubs, touring in the Catskills, and giving private performances at society events.[2][13][15] When he was 17, Jackson had studied with magician Jack London to learn the dangerous bullet catch trick.[16] "What appealed to me was the notion of doing things that appeared miraculous" Jackson once recalled.[6] "I was interested in spiritualism. I was interested in things like bullet catching, things that really challenged individual sensibilities, that were frightening, on the edge."[2] He didn't find the opportunity to perform the trick publicly until a decade later at Jackson's final professional performance as a magician.[1] It was documented in Andy Warhol's Interview (magazine), in a story titled "Dakota Jackson bites the bullet."[1][16] Jackson admits that he sometimes tires of references to his magician background, although he acknowledges it as an important part of his history.[2] The Downtown Arts Scene In the late 1960s, Jackson moved into a loft on 28th Street in Chelsea.[1][17] Jackson became part of the Downtown scene, a community of "artists, dancers, performers, and musicians" who moved to the neighborhood for the cheap rent and social life.[1][8][17][18] In October 1970, Jackson performed with the Japanese group Tokyo Kid Brothers at New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (also known as Café La MaMa) in a rock musical production called "Coney Island Play" ("Konī airando purē).[19] The show explored themes of cross-cultural communication and understanding[19] and was a follow up to the group's debut performance of "The Golden Bat" at La MaMa earlier that summer.[20][21][22] Jackson played the part of a "clever conjurer."[19] Over the next few years, Jackson became interested in minimalist dance and performed in the dance companies of Laura Dean and Trisha Brown.[2][15][23] Jackson credits his exposure to minimalism and minimalist dance in particular as having had a strong influence on his approach to design; in 1989, Jackson told the Los Angeles Times: For me the essential fineness of a design is in the idea, not the object itself ... In minimalism, the object is pared down to its basic meaning by stripping away all the excrescence ... —those elements that do not contribute to the pure idea.[24] Design career In the early 1970s, as he experimented with performance and dance, Jackson began branching out as a special effects consultant to other magicians, film producers, and musicians[2][23] such as Donna Summer.[6][9] The loft also gave Jackson an opportunity to apply his creativity and building skills: "These were times when lofts were not ... luxury condominiums. These were tough, tough raw spaces ... and we artists, bohemians, creative people, we created our environment. So I had to build".[17][25] Recognizing his skills as a builder, Jackson decided to shift away from performance and become a full-time maker.[1][15][17] He began making a variety of objects, including furnishings for other artists and magic boxes with hidden compartments for art collectors and galleries.[17][24] Jackson's social connections helped spread word about his work[15] and this led to his first commissions.[1] Early Commissions Desk for John Lennon by Dakota Jackson In 1974, Jackson's career as a designer began when Yoko Ono asked him to build a desk with hidden compartments for husband John Lennon.[26] "She wanted to make a piece of furniture that would be a mystical object; that would be like a Chinese puzzle," Jackson recalled in a 1986 interview published in the Chicago Tribune.[6] The result was a small cubed-shaped writing table with rounded corners reminiscent of Art Deco era style.[15] Touching secret pressure points opened the desk's compartments.[23] This commission helped build Jackson's reputation and allowed him to merge his experience as a magician and performer with his developing interest in furniture.[27] In 1978, a bed designed for fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg garnered Jackson even more notoriety.[8][10][28] [29] Called "The Eclipse", the bed was described in The New Yorker as "large, astounding, sumptuous, with sunbursts of cherry wood and quilted ivory satin at head and foot."[10] A lighting system positioned behind the headboard switched on automatically at sunset and spread out rays of light "like an aurora borealis,"[2][17] which grew brighter and brighter until turning off at 2 am.[23][30] Commissions like these continued to come in[8] and Jackson soon became known as a designer to the rich and famous.[30] Some of his other clients from this period included songwriter Peter Allen, Saturday Night Live creator and producer Lorne Michaels, Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, and soap opera actress Christine Jones.[8] The American Art Furniture Movement and the Industrial Style In the late 1970s, Jackson was among a small group of artists and artisans producing and exhibiting hand-made furniture in New York.[5][31] Jackson and his peers were part of the "American Art Furniture Movement," a group sometimes called the "Art et Industrie Movement,"[32] named after the leading art furniture gallery of the era,[32] Art et Industrie, founded by Rick Kaufmann in 1976.[33] In a 1984 Town & Country article titled "Art You Can Sit On," Kaufmann said he created the gallery to "serve as a locus to the public for artists and designers creating new decorative arts."[31] The works on display were "radical objects" that drew from a number of fine art traditions, including "Pop, Surrealism, Pointillism and Dada [which were] "thrown together with the severe lines of the Bauhaus and the Russian avant-garde, mixed with Mondrian's color and filtered through a video sensibility—all to create a new statement."[31] The article described Jackson as a "ten-year veteran of the genre" and pointed to the "clean forms and quiet colors" of his furniture.[4] Jackson showed a variety of industrial-looking lacquer, metal, and glass works at Art et Industrie, including his Standing Bar (also known as the Modern Bar),[33] a lacquered cabinet that Jackson designed in 1978 for his wife (then-girlfriend) RoseLee Goldberg.[13] Other works from this period include the T-Bird Desk, Self-Winding Cocktail Table, and the Saturn Stool...
Category

Late 20th Century Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Stainless Steel

Desk Model TL22, by Franco Albini and Franca Helg. Poggi, 1958
Located in Wolfurt, AT
Desk model TL22, designed by Franco Albini and Franca Helg and manufactured by Poggi in 1958. Table completely restored. Wood: walnut. Letteratura: Gramigna G., Repertorio del desig...
Category

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

Materials

Walnut

Rosewood Writing Desk with Bookshelf, Danish Design
Located in The Hague, NL
Midcentury Danish rosewood desk A good quality Danish rosewood desk having four drawers to the front and open shelf to the back. Beautiful grain on the top and drawers on original ke...
Category

1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Rosewood

1930s Fabulous Industrial Adjustable Wood Table Hand Crank Metal Base
Located in Chula Vista, CA
Old Adjustable Table 1930s Fabulous Sculptural Industrial Wheeled Wood Table Adjustable Tilt with Hand Crank Metal Base Adjustable height useful as Lectern, Drafting, Music Stand, S...
Category

1930s Industrial Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Poul Nørreklit for Georg Petersens Møbelfabrik selectform desk model 'GP 160'
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
A vintage mid-century desk designed by Poul Nørreklit for Georg Petersens Møbelfabrik. Original label is present The desk is part of the selectform range model 'GP 160'. The desk ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Stainless Steel

1950's Amazing "Magic Box' Organiser Bureau Compact Plywood Ateliers Genestar
Located in bergen op zoom, NL
This 'Magic Box' organising desk has been produced by various manufactures in Europe in the 1950's and 1960's Commonly this desk is known as produced in Switzerland by Mummenthaler & Meier but this same model was also made in Norway and France We believe this is the French version that was made by Ateliers Genestar as that version has the retractable plywood curved lamp...
Category

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

Materials

Oak, Plywood

Heywood Wakefield Trimline Desk by Kem Weber
Located in Los Angeles, CA
W59.5 D29.5 H29.5 Fully refinished Mid Century modern desk designed by Kem Weber for Heywood Wakefield. Desk features a chrome tubular frame, birch drawers , a laminate top and a me...
Category

1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Chrome

French Mid-Century Desk in Black Lacquer with Brass Details by Jean Claude Mahey
Located in Salzburg, AT
Straight-lined desk in a clear design by French designer Jean Claude Mahey. The object is made entirely of beech wood and is very heavy. The desk has 3 drawers with folding brass ha...
Category

1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Danish Modern Floating Top Teak Desk by Kai Kristiansen
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Stunning Danish modern teak desk designed by the famous cabinet maker Kai Kristiansen for Feldballes Møbelfrabrik in Denmark, circa 1960s. The FM60 desk is a highly sought-after Scan...
Category

1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Mummenthaler & Meier Magic Box Writing Desk In Teak, Switzerland 1950
Located in ABCOUDE, UT
Experience the elegance and ingenuity of Swiss design with this stunning foldable writing desk crafted by Mummenthaler & Meier in 1950. Named the “Magic Box,” this exquisite piece tr...
Category

1950s Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Mid century Desk by Gio Ponti
Located in Paddock Wood Tonbridge, GB
DESK BY GIO PONTI A midcentury desk produced in Italy by Italian master Gio Ponti, good solid construction with Sapele veneer.Its sleek and minimalistic design is enhanced by elegant...
Category

Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

1965 Danish Arne Jacobsen Saint Catherines Desk in Oak by Fritz Hansen
Located in Knebel, DK
Danish Arne Jacobsen Saint Catherines Desk in Oak by Fritz Hansen The desks are marked with a Fritz Hansen label from July 1965 and have...
Category

1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Art Deco dressing table with chair, Germany, circa 1940s
Located in Chorzów, PL
Art Deco dressing table with chair. Elegant dressing table with a chair in the Art Deco style. The furniture has been professionally renovated and is in very good condition. The dres...
Category

1930s German Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Walnut Hunt Table
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage walnut hunt table. Dimensions: 28"H x 18"D x 72" from end to end x 35" deep overall.
Category

Mid-20th Century Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Antique Edwardian Quality Freestanding Mahogany Inlaid Pedestal Desk
Located in Suffolk, GB
Antique Edwardian quality freestanding mahogany inlaid pedestal desk having a quality attractive mahogany inlaid satinwood crossbanded top with a green leather writing surface above ...
Category

Early 20th Century Edwardian Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Other

Leather + Wood Writing Desk Attributed to Jacques Adnet, France 1950s
Located in Chicago, IL
A 1950s French writing desk attributed to Jacques Adnet. This desk features a black leather clad frame with stitch detailing and an inset wood tabletop. It has two drawers with circu...
Category

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

Materials

Brass

Vintage Writing Desk 1960s Mahogany Veneered Enameled Metal
Located in Milano, IT
Desk with double column side drawers in enamelled metal and mahogany veneered wood with Formica-covered top.
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

60s Desk
Located in Milano, IT
Desk with side drawer column, enameled metal, mahogany veneer wood. Good conditions.
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Of Group 1 Desk by Isamu Kenmochi for Tendo Mokko, 1971
Located in Venezia, VENETO
This desk has been designed by Isamu Kenmochi for OF Group 1 Collection at Tendo Mokko in 1971. It has 2 drawers with slots for office equipment and the manufa...
Category

1970s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Vintage Brass and Rattan Desk
Located in London, GB
A very stylish and unusual vintage brass and rattan desk. This was made in England, it dates from around the 1970’s. It is very well made and has a lovely design, with the rattan cl...
Category

1970s British Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Art Deco Desk, France 1940s
Located in Greding, DE
Art Deco desk with slightly curved table top and two drawer elements with four drawers each. These are lockable and the handles are made of elegant bars. The desk can be positioned a...
Category

1940s French Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Architect's work, Lacquered system table, circa 1970
Located in Paris, FR
System table Unique piece, special order, Circa 1970 White and orange lacquered wood Height 77 x Width 100 x Length 81 (162 cm open) Condition report: good original condition, so...
Category

1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood, Lacquer

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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