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Desks and Writing Tables For Sale
Period: Late 20th Century
Period: Early 1900s
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

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

Venetian Rococo Revival Lacquered Ladies Desk
Located in New York, NY
Venetian Rococo Revival lacquered wood ladies desk or writing table raised on tapered cabriole legs, having two drawers to front, floral motif painted...
Category

Late 20th Century Rococo Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Extra Large Vintage Lacquered Wood & Brass Desk by Jean Claude Mahey ca. 1970s
Located in Geneva, CH
Impressive extra large vintage burgundy red lacquered wood and brass presidential desk by Jean Claude Mahey, France ca. 1970s Rare in these dimensions. Signed with brass label on the...
Category

1970s French Hollywood Regency Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

French Louis XV Bureau Plat Desk or Writing Table with Embossed Leather
Located in Hopewell, NJ
An outstanding French Louis XV desk having embossed leather top and a faux front on its back so will look lovely in the center of any room. The writing desk has three spacious drawer...
Category

Early 1900s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Cavalletto Table Desk by Kazuhide Takahama for Gavina, Italy 1970s
Located in Argelato, BO
Rare project by the Japanese architect and designer Kazuhide Takahama for Gavina. Metal base, top covered with billiard cloth. It can easily be used both as a desk and as a dining t...
Category

1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Guido Faleschini writing desk for Mariani, 1970
By Faleschini
Located in Manzano, IT
Guido Faleschini writing desk for Mariani, 1970 Strong and stable, important office desk by Guido Faleschini. Glass shelf, aluminum profiles and alcantara upholstery. Aluminum 8-draw...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Arquitectonica 1984, Madonna Table, Desk for Memphis Milano, Postmodern Miami
Located in Munster, NRW
Madonna table by Arquitectonica Miami for Memphis Milano, 1984. Iconic an extremely rare postmodern piece and one of the only Memphis Group productions whose design was commissione...
Category

1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

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

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

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

Le Corbusier L6 Style Table Base for Cassina
Located in New York, NY
Le Corbusier L6 style table base for Cassina. Selling without glass.
Category

1990s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

French Oak Harvest Trestle Table
Located in Staffordshire, GB
French oak harvest trestle table, circa 1900. X-framed pine trestle with a replacement oak top made from 300 year old oak beams. A good versatile dining table, desk, work table ...
Category

Early 1900s French Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak, Pine

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

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

Theodore Alexander French Regency Louis XVI Painted Walnut Writing Desk
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional French Regency Louis XVI style bureau plat desk or writing desk By Theodore Alexander, "Ateliers de la Madeleine" Circa Late 20th Century Painted walnut case, with ...
Category

Late 20th Century Unknown Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

1970s Writing Desk, Italy
Located in Praha, CZ
- Item was carefully refurbished - sturdy and stable - mahogany veneer
Category

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

Materials

Metal

Post Modern Corner Desk Glass
Located in Mortsel, BE
Please message us for more info or transportation options
Category

Late 20th Century Unknown Post-Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal, Steel, Chrome

Mid-Century Modern T333 Desk by Oslvado Borsani and Eugenio Gerli for Tecno
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern T333 Desk by Oslvado Borsani and Eugenio Gerli for Tecno, Italy, 1975
Category

1970s Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Chrome

Mid-Century Modern Desk by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Stildomus 1970s
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern Desk by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Stildomus 1970s
Category

1970s Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Stickley Antique Mission Oak Arts & Crafts Desk or Library Table, Refinished
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 Gorgeous quarter sawn oak, with original hammered copper hardwa...
Category

Early 1900s American Arts and Crafts Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Copper

Czechoslovakian Writing Desk by Bohumil Landsman for Jitona, 1970s
Located in Poznań, PL
An oak desk designed by Bohumil Landsman, produced during the 1970's in former Czechoslovakia by a furniture factory Jitona. A striking design. Surfaces cleaned, stained and lacquer...
Category

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

Materials

Oak

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

English Edwardian Writing Table Bureaux
Located in Leicester, GB
Stunning English Edwardian slim cabinet bureaux in Mahogany. Beautiful inlay decoration. The writing table can be opened and closed with a key and a lock. Inside the writing table th...
Category

Early 1900s British Edwardian Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Stainless steel desk circa 1970
Located in Isle Sur Sorgue, FR
Rare stainless steel desk circa 1970. A thick glass top is on top of a stainless steel frame which adapts to the 2 legs. Very pure design, great quality and condition.
Category

1970s Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Stainless Steel

Mid-Century Modern Wooden and Chrome Desk, Italy, 1970s
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern Wooden and Chrome Desk, Italy, 1970s
Category

1970s Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Chrome

Original Jugendstil Herrenschreibtisch+Armlehnstuhl, J. W. Müller (Wien um 1905)
By J.W. Müller
Located in Wien, AT
Objekt: Jugendstil Herrenschreibtisch (freistehend, 9 Schubladen) + Armlehnstuhl Entwurf: J. W. Müller (K.u.K. Hoftischlerei, Wien um 1905) Modell-Nummer: - Ausführung: J. W. Müller ...
Category

Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Elinor and John McGuire set for Lyda Levi: desk with bamboo director’s chair
Located in Roma, RM
Elinor and John McGuire set for Lyda Levi: desk with bamboo director’s chair, leather bindings, brass and canvas details. San Francisco 1970s. Product details Desk dimensions: 85 W x...
Category

1970s American Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Postmodern Dalmatian Pongo Desk by Pierre Colleu for Starform and Disney, 1980s.
Located in Lille, FR
Table height: 50 cm. Total height with the head: 80 cm Good condition. Some chips on the top.
Category

1980s French Post-Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Resin, Plastic

Mid-Century Modern Desk by Florence Knoll for Knoll international, 1970s
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern Desk by Florence Knoll for Knoll international Biography : Born to a baker, and orphaned at age twelve, Florence Schust grew up Saginaw, Michigan. Schust demons...
Category

1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble

Vintage Campaign Style Desk by Drexel
Located in W Allenhurst, NJ
Campaign style desk designed by John Van Koert for Drexel. The desk is supported by gold crossed wood supports with a gilt finish. The top portion offers cubby-hole storage on either...
Category

1970s American Campaign Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Seventies Studded Teak Desk
Located in London, England
Outstanding studded detail teak desk. An almost architectural feel to the proportions and construction. Some light marking in places as to be expected, see photos. France 1970s L...
Category

1970s French Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Teak

Antique French Walnut Bureau Plat Desk
Located in London, GB
A stunning antique French walnut bureau plat desk, dating from around the 1900-1910 period. It is of outstanding quality, this has fantastic gilt metal ormolu mounts all over, inclu...
Category

Early 1900s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

Burl Maple and Rosewood Art Deco Waterfall Executive Desk
Located in Chattanooga, TN
Everyone here on team FMV adores this desk. We don't know much (if anything) about the origin, maker or designer, but it's awesome nonetheless. Similar to the Henredon "Scene Two" ...
Category

1970s Unknown Art Deco Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Antique Fine Quality C1900 Inlaid Mahogany Ladies Writing Table Desk Dressing
Located in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
Antique Fine Quality circa 1900 Inlaid Mahogany Ladies Writing Table, versatile as a desk, dressing, or side table, boasting a simple yet elegant classical design. This remarkable p...
Category

Early 1900s Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood, Mahogany

High end palissander desk by Promemoria italy, 1990s
Located in HEVERLEE, BE
High end italian desk by Promemoria italy with a incredibly beautiful palissander frame and top. Inside the two drawers we find a leather finish, labelled with makers mark. The nat...
Category

1990s Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Palisander

Hand Carved Whitewashed Desk or Console in the Manner of John Dickenson
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Impressive mid century modern writing desk or console table having whitewashed carved wood with lattice pattern and finished on top with leather and chrome. Chunky legs with Asian f...
Category

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

Materials

Chrome

Theodore Alexander "Chateau du Vallois" French Mahogany Leather Writing Desk 48"
Located in Dayton, OH
Theodore Alexander "Chateau du Vallois" French Provincial Writing Desk. Features a serpentine form made from mahogany with tooled leather surfaces. Includes three dovetailed drawers ...
Category

Late 20th Century French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Mahogany

Anonima Castelli Palisander Wood Desk with Elegant Metal Insert Handle, 1970s
Located in Traversetolo, IT
The desk, produced in the 1970s by Anonima Castelli of Bologna, is an authentic vintage piece in impeccable condition, crafted entirely from fine Palisander wood. Its design includes...
Category

1970s Italian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Rosewood

Vintage Tooled Leather Traditional Carved Campaign Style Office Writing Desk 62"
Located in Dayton, OH
Late 20th Century campaign style desk. Features a rectangular form with brown tooled leather top and two drawers in the frieze. Each drawer has brass lion knocker pulls. The desk is ...
Category

Late 20th Century British Colonial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Hardwood

Postmodern Black Lacquered Desk by Interlubke, Germany 1980s
Located in Miami, FL
All black lacquered postmodern writing desk with a storage cabinet and drawer with organizer by Interlubke, Germany 1980s.
Category

Late 20th Century German Post-Modern Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Guy LeFevre for Maison Jansen Lacquered Wood w/ Leather Desk, France C 1970s
Located in Norwalk, CT
Designed by noted designer Guy LeFevre who worked extensively with Maison Jansen in the 1970s, this handsome desk incorporates many of his signature details. The base and hardware ar...
Category

1970s French Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

vintage desk desk 70's adjustable
Located in GRONINGEN, NL
vintage desk desk 70's adjustable period 70s design unknown Sweden condition good signs of use; scratches; discoloration; size 71 (highest position)...
Category

1970s Swedish Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Late 20th Century Vintage Coastal Pretzel Rattan Desk and Chair Set of 2
Located in west palm beach, FL
Embrace the charm of coastal living with our Vintage Coastal Pretzel Rattan Desk and Chair Set, exuding timeless American style and crafted for both comfort and elegance. Bring a tou...
Category

Late 20th Century Philippine Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Rattan

Dyrlund Desk Model 'Space' With Side Table And Drawer Module
Located in Vienna, AT
Dyrlund. Desk, model 'Space' with side table and drawer module in lacquered wood, handle and legs in steel. Desk D. 95 cm, L. 200 cm, H. 73 cm, side table H. 61 cm, W. 120 cm, D. 40 ...
Category

1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel, Chrome

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 USA, Circa 1900 Measures: 48"W x 30"D x 29"H. Professionally res...
Category

Early 1900s American Arts and Crafts Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Leather Top Writing Desk
Located in Pomona, CA
A leather top writing desk with brass accent on the edge and three drawers
Category

1970s American Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

1970s Milo Baughman Burlwood Chrome Curved Executive Desk
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
On offer on this occasion is one of the most stunning and one of a kind, sculptural Burlwood solid wood desk you could hope to find. Outstanding design is exhibited throughout. Chrom...
Category

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

Materials

Chrome

Single Minimalistic Heavy Polished Aluminum Table or Desk Base
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Single minimalistic heavy polished aluminum table or desk base. Add your own wood or stone top to specification. The base dimensions are lis...
Category

1970s American International Style Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Glass desk, Italy 1980
Located in Roma, RM
Glass desk, Italy 1980 Product details Dimensions: 150 W x 72 H x 70.5 D cm
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Metal

Mid Century Modern Danish Teak Desk Skovby Møbelfabrik 55" Wide Signed 1970
Located in Portland, OR
A good Mid Century Modern Danish teak desk, Skovby Møbelfabrik, 1970. The desk is made from well figured teak, on the left side is a bank of three drawers, the desk is joined with a ...
Category

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

Materials

Teak

Signed Romeo Rega Console or Desk in Chrome and Brown Plexiglass, Italy 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Stunning desk or console table in chromed steel with a brown plexiglass top. This incredibly rare piece is signed by Romeo Rega and was designed in Rome,Italy during the 1970s. This...
Category

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

Materials

Steel, Chrome

French Louis XV Style Figural Maple Burl Writing Desk Napoleon Bureau Plat 72"
Located in Dayton, OH
Monumental Louis XV / Napoleon III style office desk. A serpentine form made from birdseye maple with three large dovetailed drawers in the frieze and long tapered cabriole legs. Fea...
Category

Late 20th Century Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Gothic Revival Hand-Carved Oak Pedestal Desk, 1900s
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and ultra rare Gothic Revival pedestal desk. Striking Dutch design from the 1900s The craftsmanship of this impressive piece of furniture is outstanding! Executed in so...
Category

Early 1900s Dutch Gothic Revival Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Boho British Colonial Bamboo & Rattan Desk
Located in Trenton, NJ
Introducing this Vintage British Colonial Style Grasscloth and Bamboo Writing Desk – a tropical oasis for your workspace that’s as stylish as it is sustainable! Say goodbye to boring...
Category

Late 20th Century Unknown British Colonial Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Grasscloth, Bamboo, Wood

Mid Century Teak Desk
Located in Puslinch, ON
Condition: Great Vintage Condition Dimensions: 65” L (25” L LR) x 29.75” D x 29.5” H (26.75” H LR) Description: A vintage teak desk. Made in Canada, circa 1970s. Drawers slide easi...
Category

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

Materials

Teak

Danish Modern Solid Teak Biomorphic Desk
Located in Miami, FL
A rare Danish Modern Desk with a biomorphic top. Solid teal construction. Note the finger joints on all drawers.
Category

1970s Danish Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Teak

Vintage Coastal Woven Split Rattan Kneehole Desk with Four Drawers
Located in Miami, FL
Vintage Coastal Woven Split Rattan Kneehole Desk with Four Drawers Offered for sale is a vintage woven rattan kneehole desk. The desk is created in a Coastal design with woven rat...
Category

Late 20th Century Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Rattan, Wood

Antique and Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

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

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

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

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

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

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

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