Desks

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Early Desks

Antique Desks

In addition to providing writing surfaces and drawers, some desks provided pigeonholes for documents and slots for ledgers. This exhibit is limited to desks of the latter types that were marketed in the U.S. Desks with writing surfaces, drawers, pigeonholes, and slots for ledgers existed in England by the end of the 17th century. (See illustrations in Mark Bridge, An Encyclopedia of Desks, 1988.)

Standard Office Desks
1840s & 1850s	Single Standing Desk, Piano Sitting Desk, and third desk, Stephen Smith, Boston, MA, 1846 billhead	Four styles of desks, Stephen Smith's Desk Warehouse, Boston, MA, 1854 ad.
.	Desk, E. P. Wright, Worcester, MA, 1854 ad	Abraham Lincoln's Desk, Springfield, IL
1860s	1862	J.W. Schermerhorn & Co., NY, NY, 1869.
1870s	J. Brewi & Co, Designs of Writing Desks, NY, NY, 1871 ad	J. Brewi & Co, NY, NY, 1871 ad
Desk in office of the Cheshire Republican, a newspaper, Keene, NH, 1872, by Jotham A. French.	J. Brewi & Co, NY, NY, 1871 ad	H. Mott & Co., 1873 billhead. Also J. Brewi & Co., NY, NY, 1871
A desk of the style to the right appears in a c.1856 photograph of a Western Union office. Desks of this style were advertised in 1873 (Kehr, Kellner & Co., Designs of Writing Desks, New York, NY) and c. 1882 (T. B. Wigfall, Chicago) (both Hagley Museum and Library).	President's Desk, J. Brewi & Co, NY, NY, 1871 ad	Pigeon-holes and ledger case in desk similar to the one pictured immediately above
Cylinder Desks: There is a distinction between cylinder desks and roll-top desks (a.k.a. curtain desks). On cylinder desks, the top that swings into place to cover the writing surface is not flexible, and the track is therefore a circular arc. On roll-top desks, the top that rolls into place is flexible, and the track typically has an S shape, although in some cases it is a circular arc. P. Talbott states that roll-top desks were introduced in the US in the 1870s, and that "by the 1870s the most commonly illustrated desk was the cylinder, or roll top, desk." ("The Office in the 19th Century," in J.C. Showalter & J. Driesbach, eds., Wooton Patent Desks, 1983, pp. 15, 18.) Talbott's references to roll-top desks must be references to cylinder desks. The earliest ad we have seen for cylinder desks dates from 1871 (immediately to left). Cylinder desks were advertised in the US in 1873 & 1876 (Kehr, Kellner & Co.) and continued to be advertised in the early 1880s. The earliest illustrations we have seen of offices with cylinder desks date from 1874 (far right) and 1876.	Mark Bridge (p. 42) reports that what may have been the first cylinder desk was built for Louis XV during 1760-69. Cylinder desks were popular in France for at least the following century. A c. 1776 French cylinder desk is on display at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Bridge (pp. 70-71) indicates that tambour, or roll-top, writing tables with drawers and pigeonholes existed in England by 1788, but these were much smaller than the roll-top desks that were popular in the U.S. a century later. Cylinder Desk, J. Brewi & Co., NY, NY, 1871 ad Cylinder Desk, Melior, Lingemann & Co., NY, NY, 1874 ad	"Sudden Death of the Hon. William F. Havemeyer in his Office," New York, NY, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Dec. 1874. Havemeyer (b.1804) was mayor of NYC during 1848-49 and died on Nov. 30, 1874. Cylinder Desk, open & closed, Sugg & Beiersdorf Co., Chicago, IL, 1883 ad Cylinder Desks, F. Mayer & Co., Chicago, IL, 1883 ad
1880s Roll-top Desks: In 1875, Fred H. Cutler, of Buffalo, NY, was awarded a patent for a desk with a flexible top that pulled up rather than down (see patent illustration immediately to right). We do not know whether this design was manufactured, but it appears to be a predecessor of a roll-top desk. In 1881, Abner Cutler, also of Buffalo, NY, and presumably a relative of Fred H. Cutler, was awarded the earliest patent we have found for a true roll-top des (although the patent did not use the term "roll-top"). Abner Cutler filed the application for this patent in 1880. This is the earliest evidence we have found for a roll-top desk.	Patent illustration for a desk with a flexible pull-up cover, Fred H Cutler, Buffalo, NY, 1875	Patent illustration for a roll-top desk, Abner Cutler, Buffalo, NY, 1881.
The earliest use of the term "roll-top desk" that we have found was in 1881. The catalog for the Fourteenth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, Boston, MA, 1881, p. 98, states that Smith & Co., Boston, MA, exhibited a "Roll-Top Desk." The Literary World, Oct. 22, 1881, p. 370, states that "...a publishing house does not necessarily consist in frescoed ceilings, black walnut counters, roll-top desks, and Brussels carpets." The earliest advertisement we have found for a roll-top desk was published in 1884; we have found 1884 advertisements for roll-top desks made by numerous companies. The earliest illustration we have seen of an office with a roll-top desk dates from 1887.	Roll-top Secretary Desk, Geo. H. Derby & Co., Boston, MA, 1884 ad. "The Fifth Illustrated Catalogue of the Derby Roll-Top Desks," published in 1884, stated that "Thousands of Derby Roll-Top Desks are now in use." This suggests that production of Derby Roll-Top Desks may have begun c. 1880.	Roll-top Desk, Frederick Douglass's Study, Cedar Hill, Douglass home 1877-95, Anacostia, Washington, DC
*Filing Cabinets for the Tops of Desks:* Manufacturers marketed filing units that were designed to be placed on top of flat and roll-top desks.	National Office Furniture, M.J. Wise, Sole Proprietor, Washington, DC, 1884 catalog.	Roll-Top Desk with Combination Cabinet of Six Shannon and two US Document Drawers on Top, Schlicht & Field Co., Rochester, NY, 1886 ad
.	Wells' Cabinet Letter File, Wells Mfg. Co., Syracuse, NY, 1893 ad.	Office with filing unit on top of roll-top desk, c. 1900
*Ross Desks:* These were made by the Forest City Furniture Co., Rockford, IL Office with Two Men at a Desk, G. L. Howe and O. M. Powers, The Secrets of Success in Business, 1883.	Ross Curtain Desk, closed & open, patented 1883	Ross Perfection Desk, 63 compartments, 15 drawers, closed & open, 1884 ad
Luxury Desks ~ 1870s & 1880s
Wooton Cabinet Secretary Wooton Desk Co., then Wooton Desk Mfg. Co., Indianapolis, IN Patented 1874 Advertised 1874-86 According to Yates (pp. 29-30), "The pigeonhole desk was expanded to its utmost extent in the Wooton Patent Desks....The desk catered to the one-man business....While it might handle the personal papers of such Wooton owners as John D. Rockefeller and Jay Gould, or the firm records of very small businesses, it could not begin to handle the external and internal correspondence and records of growing, systematically managed firms. In the 1890s, the Wooton Desk ceased production."	Photograph courtesy of Antiquarian Traders, Beverly Hills, CA	Detail of Pigeon-Holes on right door of Wooton Cabinet Office Secretary
Wooton Rotary Desk Wooton Desk Mfg. Co., then Wooton Office Desk Co. Indianapolis, IN, then Richmond, IN Patented 1876 Advertised 1883-92 1887 Price $60-$85	In 1883, Wooton advertised a cylinder desk that had a desk like this as a base.	"Swing Pedestal Desks" of this style, with pigeon-holes, were advertised in the 1895 Tyler Office Fixture Co. Catalog, St. Louis, MO. (Hagley Museum and Library)
Moore Combination Desks Moore Combination Desk Co. Indianapolis, IN Patented 1882 Advertised 1882	Insurance King Desk, contained 129 compartments, 1882 ad	Photograph courtesy of Antiquarian Traders.
Moore combination desks were produced in standard, extra, and superior grades. Standard grade combination desks were $110 to $185. Extra grade desks were 40% to 50% more expensive. Superior were more expensive.	Office Queen, Moore Combination Desk Co., Indianapolis, IN
Standing Desks
Standing or book-keepers' desks were sold from the1840s, if not earlier, until after 1900.	Standing Desk, J. Brewi & Co, NY, NY, 1871 ad	Book-Keeper's Desk, G. L. Howe and O. M. Powers, The Secrets of Success in Business, 1883.
Why did book-keepers stand while they worked? "It is conceded by all that a book-keeper's desk should be of sufficient hight [spelling in the original] to require him to stand while at his work, for the posting and checking from one large book to another necessitates constant moving, and it would be very inconvenient for the accountant to seat himself and then rise again whenever it become necessary to refer to an entry in another book. The books of an establishment of sufficient size to employ the services of a book-keeper are usually very cumbersome, and should lie upon the counter or desk in an accustomed place, while the book-keeper passes to and fro from book to book, as occasion requires. Many firms will not employ a book-keeper who would attempt to do his work by sitting down. The book-keeper's desk should slant on top, and be provided with a rack [above the slanted surface], for convenience in laying aside indexes, tablets, etc., where they may be easily reached when needed from time to time. Under the desk may be arranged shelves and places for books, or if these are deposited in the safe or vault each night, this would not be necessary." (G. L. Howe and O. M. Powers, The Secrets of Success in Business, 1883, p. 313)	Book-Keeping Office with book-keepers' desks and a desk in the style or Wooton or Moore, G. L. Howe and O. M. Powers, The Secrets of Success in Business, 1883.	Book-keeper's Desk, Wm. Schwarzwaelder & Co., NY, NY, 1888 ad
1890s
In the 1890s and early 1900s, roll-top desks were widely advertised.	Roll-top desk, The Globe Co., Cincinnati, OH, 1894 ad

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