Antique Desks
THE average collector will not be likely to devote his chief attention to old desks and secretaries, but two or three of these old pieces in a house are highly desirable. In fact, the old-fashioned secretary, with bookcase, desk, and drawers, is about as useful a piece of furniture as the past has bequeathed to us.
A study of old desks and writing-cabinets presents an interesting development. The desks of the seventeenth century were simply boxes that locked, with flat or sloping tops. These were placed on an ordinary table when used. They were generally made of oak and were frequently carved. A very few were placed upon legs or frames, with a shelf beneath.
Antique Writing Desks
As early as 166o, however, the "scrutoir" (a corruption of escritoir) was invented, though it did not become common until 1700. This was a desk resting on a chest of drawers. The sloping front of the desk portion opened on hinges, forming the writing-desk. This was sometimes held in position by chains, but usually rested on two small drawers, one at each side, that could be pulled out when needed. Later wooden slides replaced the little drawers. Inside the desk portion were usually pigeonholes and small drawers. The lower portion consisted of a chest of three or four drawers on short ball feet, or one drawer supported by turned legs. Maple, oak, walnut, and whitewood were used, sometimes with a veneer of bird's-eye maple on the slant top and the fronts of the drawers. The older examples are extremely rare, but scrutoirs of various styles built between 1690 and 1710 are occasionally to be found.
There is one Queen Anne type that is also rare-an oak desk box and drawer resting on a four-legged frame-made between 1702 and 1714.
These scrutoirs were mostly of English manufacture, but a few of French make found their way to this country early in the eighteenth century. By 1710 American cabinet-makers also built a number of them, chiefly of cherry, and occasionally of walnut. These were quite plain and simple in form, and consisted chiefly of the desk top resting on a chest of three or four drawers. After 1730 there were some very handsome bureau-desks made in America.
In the English development of the scrutoir Dutch elements appeared during the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Some of these pieces were very graceful, especially a type that resembled the Dutch low-boy in general outline, with the desk resting on top. The lower portion consisted of cabriole legs, with one or two drawers and a scalloped apron beneath. A slanting front opened on hinges and rested on slides. Within were pigeonholes and small drawers. This form of scrutoir is also rare, and very valuable because of its beauty. Some of them were more or less elaborate. Maple and cherry were chiefly used in this country, walnut in England.
Between 1740 and 1750 another style was made, more like the older ones, with four large drawers standing on short cabriole or ogee legs. Brass drop-handles were generally used on these early eighteenth-century pieces.