20th Century Desks and Writing Tables

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Willy Van Der Meeren desk for Tubax, circa 1950, Formica, metal, wood- 38 available.  

Adjustable wood top, cast iron base drafting table. This table adjusts in height from tallest position (42") to lowest (30.5") and the to...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

1970s Wooden and Wicker Writing Desk with Folding Top and Drawers

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...

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.

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...

Studio BBPR for Olivetti, 'Spazio' table, coated steel, plastic, vinyl, Italy, 1960s. In 1954, Olivetti, the Italian office equipment manufacturer, hir...

Wooden Desk; working desk; writing table; office furniture; Charlotte Perriand; French design; Mid-Century Modern; 1960s; Desk in the style of French designer Charlotte Perriand, ...

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...

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 ...

Small writing desk of wood and metal, Formica table top. Front of the two drawers painted in black and white. Made in Italy in the 1960s. Please note...

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...

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...

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 ...

This vintage modern pedestal desk features the iconic mid-century design of Paul McCobb. Single sided writing desk offers two drawers for storage and organization and a spacious formica-style top for work. Slender tapered legs and unique McCobb drawer pulls...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Designed by Massimo Scolari for Giorgetti in 1994, the Zeno desk is a fantastic example of modern Italian design. The desk is construc...

A stunning secretary desk with bookcase by top-quality furniture maker Craftique, in the style of early American John Hancock desks. Solid mahogany with their Old Wood finish, brass ...

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...

Desk with double column side drawers in enamelled metal and mahogany veneered wood with Formica-covered top.

Antique Edwardian quality freestanding mahogany inlaid pedestal desk having a quality attractive mahogany inlaid satinwood crossbanded top with a green leather writing surface above ...

Cabinet Art Deco, French, circa 1930. Credenza buffet walnut and marble with chrome brass chopsticks. Two doors and six drawers. The buffet has been made in three parts. The top o...

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...

Amazing vintage executive desk designed by architect and furniture designer Florence Knoll in the United States, circa 1960s. This iconic design...

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...

Drafting Table Overall Dimensions: 72" x 44 1/2" x 38" - 64 1/2" high Inner Drawer Dimensions: Larger - 36 1/2" x 25" x 2" Smaller - 25" x 10 1/2" x 3 3/4" Materials: Oak & Pine

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...

Early 20th century, industrial, brushed steel desk features a contrasting white marble top with beveled edge and five drawers with brass trim underneath them. This petite piece works...

Impressive executive desk and matching credenza designed by Hans von Klier in the 1970s. A striking combination of differently textured materials in three colors makes this desk an i...

This writing desk features a leather top with glass protector on an aluminum base. Single drawer with decorative acrylic handle. Can also be used as a console table. Please confirm l...

Desk with side drawer column, enameled metal, mahogany veneer wood. Good conditions.

Incredible vintage Asian writing desk. Custom built to the designers specs. Beautiful reclaimed wood finish in warm reddish brown. Hidden drawers th...

A vintage Italian writing desk clad in woven cane with an elegant patinated brass trim. The front and back of this desk are framed in bamboo and it features three front drawers with ...

Distinctive desk showcasing a single drawer and elegantly rounded, tapered wooden legs.

Mahogany and burr leather top pedestal desk circa 1990. Good example of a 19th century designed desk. Which is in 3 sections, being the top and 2 pedestals. Top surface with green ...

A unique piece of furniture with an elegant and fine design, believe me when I tell you that at the moment there is no other similar one on sale online. Dating between the 60s and 70...

This vintage furniture set was designed by Mojmir Pozar and produced in the 1960s in the Czech Republic. The set consists of three elements: - smaller cabinet: 40x42x60cm - larger ca...

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...