Antique American Oak S-Roll Top Pedestal Desk, c. 1900–1915 View Watchlist >
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Lot # F165
System ID # 28900197
Start Date
End Date
3 Watching
Antique American Oak S-Roll Top Pedestal Desk, c. 1900–1915
A substantial quartersawn oak S-curve roll top desk in the classic American Golden Oak idiom, dating to the early twentieth century. The tambour retracts on its tracks to reveal a fitted interior of 28 pigeonhole compartments, four small drawers, two concealed pen/pencil drawers, a pull-out flat file tray, and dual pull-out writing surfaces flanking the kneehole. The pedestal base houses eight dovetailed drawers, with the lower right configured as a deep letter file. Raised panel sides, paneled back, and a paneled modesty kneehole confirm the desk was built to stand free in the center of a room.
Desks of this form were the workhorses of American commerce from the 1880s through the First World War — banks, railroad offices, law practices, and county courthouses ordered them by the carload from makers such as Cutler, Derby, and the Wooton successors. The S-curve tambour (as opposed to the simpler C-curve) signals the higher grade of the period's production. The desk separates into four pieces for transport, a design feature original to the form and a considerable advantage for buyers navigating doorways and stairwells. Lock mechanisms have been removed; the key escutcheon on the tambour rail remains in place.
CONDITION
Good overall with age-appropriate wear throughout. Scuffing, finish wear and loss, stains, and discoloration are present across the case. The roll top has a chipped vertical divider in the pigeonhole bank. Burn marks run along the front edge of the writing surface, with ring marks to the top. The rear lower left corner shows old water damage to the base molding. Drawer interiors are stained and bear period writing. Lock mechanisms have been removed; the file drawer shows a vacant lock bore. Tambour operates.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Overall: 50" H × 60" W × 34" D
- Kneehole: 26" W × 24" H
- Material: Solid quartersawn oak
- Configuration: Roll top over double-pedestal base
- Drawers: 8 dovetailed (lower right is letter file)
- Roll Top Interior: 28 compartments, 4 drawers, 2 concealed pen/pencil drawers, pull-out flat file/tray, 2 pull-out writing surfaces
- Construction: Separates into 4 pieces for convenient transportation
- Missing: Key and lock mechanisms
