Small Antique Desks for the Home Office

Antiquedesks.net specialises in finding superb smaller antique desks for use in the home.  While we can also supply large commercial sized office desks many of our clients ask us to find a unique piece of furniture for their home office.

Small three piece antique pedestal desks are particularly popular and examples of desks that we have recently supplied can be seen at http://www.antiquedesks.net/stock/antique-small-desks.html

These desks are commonly found in mahogany.oak and walnut and typically date from the late Georgian period through William IV, Victorian and early Edwardian eras.  Handles can be ornate brass or turned wood.  As always we can supply desks with leather writing surfaces made to our Clients choice in terms of colour, embossing and gilding.

We can also supply unique specialist small antique writing desks - often by famous English furniture makers - for example Antique Davenport Desks and Bureax and Bonheur du Jour.  See examples at http://www.antiquedesks.net/stock/antique-writing-desks.html

If you are looking for a top quality, genuine small English antique desk then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Antique Furniture Period Guide

Follow this link to view the Antiquedesks.net guide to Antique Furniture Periods.  This simple table compares British, Amercian and French terminology and spans the periods from 1485 to 1952 (i.e. Henry VII (Tudor) through to Queen Elizabeth II).  It explains when key terms such as "Gothic", "Colonial", "Chippendale", "Arts and Crafts" and "Art Deco" are properly used and the dates to which they apply.

Antique Desk Restoration

Antiquedesks.net restores fine old antique desks, antique writing furniture and antique desk chairs for our Clients who are buying an antique desk from us - examples pf our work can be seen at http://www.antiquedesks.net/links/Antique-Desk-Restoration.html

This page shows photographs both "before" and "after" restoration.  All restoration is done by the highest quailified restoration professionals using the very best materials.  Wherever possible we aim to retain as much of the original fabric and charater of the desk as possible.  Renovation or installation of leather writing surfaces is one of our specialisations.  This can include embossing and gilding in a owde variety of designs to truely personalise the desk.  See more at  http://www.antiquedesks.net/links/Antique-Desk-Restoration.html

Antique Desks by Gillow & Co (Gillows) of Lancaster & London

GILLOW & CO – LANCASTER & LONDON

The firm of Gillows of Lancaster can be traced back to Robert Gillow (1704-72) During the 1730's he began to exploit the lucrative West Indies trade exporting mahogany furniture and importing rum and sugar. Following his death in 1772, the business was continued by his two sons, Richard (1734-1811) and Robert (1745-93). In 1764 a London branch of Gillows was established at 176 Oxford Road, now Oxford Street, by Thomas Gillow and William Taylor. The firm rapidly established a reputation for supplying high quality furniture to the richest families in the country

During the final years of the 19th century the company ran into financial difficulty and from 1897 began a loose financial arrangement with Waring of Liverpool, an arrangement legally ratified by the establishment of Waring and Gillow in 1903.

Gillows marks and stamps: makers numbers were stamped on the pieces of furniture when they did not form part of a special order. The letter L placed before the number indicates that the piece was manufactured at the Lancaster factory. The stamp GILLOWS LANCASTER first appeared on furniture between 1780 and 1790. By the middle of the 19th Century GILLOW is found stamped on pieces in 2.5mm letters. By the end of the 19th Century GILLOW & Co is often found, lightly impressed in letters 3mm high. Waring and Gillow instituted a thin stamped brass name plate, a practice that was continued up to the 1950's. Marks are generally found on the top edges of drawers, on the underside of lids or table tops, on the right hand back leg of early chairs and under the front edge of the seat of later chairs. Very often the pencilled signature of the craftsman making the piece can be found on the underside of a drawer.
.

A fine and rare 67" (170cm) Walnut Twin Pedestal Partners Desk by Gillows - fully authenticated and catalogued - made in 1882 to special order for a named Client.

SOLD by Antiquedesks.net

Fine Leather Desk Chairs

We sell fine quality new leather desk chairs.  All our fine Leather Desk Chairs and Office Chairs are robust and stylish with excellent detailing. They are made for us by a well renowned, and long established, English firm of craftsmen in the West Country from top quality materials. Our chairs are fully adjustable (where appropriate) and come in various woods and many leather colours. They can also be made to match your chosen antique desk, writing or library table. A variety of chairs are always available from stock, however custom made chairs take around 6-8 weeks for delivery depending on wood/colour. Overall we offer these top quality UK made Desk Chairs at competitive prices INCLUDING VAT & FREE DELIVERY

 

CLICK HERE to see our range of MATCHING FILING CABINETS & STORAGE CABINETS

Sourcing Fine Antique Desks - Desk Finder

Finding the perfect desk or table for your office, home office or study can be a time consuming process - why not let us help? Over the years our business has sourced and sold literally thousands of high quality antique desks and writing tables and related pieces of antique office furniture. Our extensive photographic database and knowledge can be used to help you find the perfect piece of furniture. We can also offer this service to Interior Designers looking for ideas or help in sourcing unique pieces of office furniture.

Each week Antiquedesks.net has many enquiries from Clients who wish to buy a particular type of desk, in a particular wood and of specific dimensions. Equally we are frequently contacted by many people trying to sell their desk or writing table. Obviously we cannot stock every type of desk in every size - therefore we are pleased to offer our ANTIQUE DESK FINDING SERVICE whereby we find your ideal desk or antique writing table for you.  Read more about our Antique Desk Finder Service

For Sale - A Large Antique Desk by Hamptons of Kensington

In our Spring Sale we have a rare 72" (183cm) pedestal desk by Hamptons of Kensington (ref 2074) - £1,995

This is a particukarly handsome Large Mahogany Pedestal Desk. George VI period. Very high quality. Originally retailed by Hampton & Sons of Kensington London* (see below for their biography). Rarely found in this size. It is fully panelled on all sides (rear and inside/outside of each pedestal). Eight working drawers - the bottom right hand drawer being a double height ledger drawer. Each drawer with original brass handles and locks. Hand cut dovetail joints to the drawers. Wheeled castors for ease of movement. Beautiful black leather writing surface. Excellent size, colour and proportions - this desk has an especially large kneehole and excellent working height. Panelled sides makes this a particularly handsome desk from all angles - it can be sat in the middle of a room or against a wall.

* Hampton & Sons of Kensington High Street, London. Antique and modern furniture dealers, furnishers and upholsterers. Founded in 1830 and trading at this address from 1940 to 1960. Commissions included inter alia the furnishing of the Royal Yacht Britannia for Her Majesty the Queen, the liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the palaces of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maharajah of Kashmir.

Our full stock of antique desks (large, medium and small) can be seen by visiting the Antique Desks for Sale page on our website.

Antique Desks Spring Sale - Update!

As of 3rd May 2013, and for a short period only, we are now able to offer our buyers discounts of up to 20% OFF selected stock in our annual Spring Sale.

For example:

A fine Antique William IV Library Table is now on,y £1,800.

A Georgian Satin Birch Writing Table (c1800) is now proced at only £1,195 in our Sale

and

A Large Antique 18 Drawer Partners Desk now is now offered at an exceptional price of only £2,200

For full details and current stock lists and SALE PRICES go to www.antiquedesks.net

 

Antique Desks Spring Sale

Every year Antiquedesks.net holds its Spring Sale and this year is no exception.  Our sale starts today April 22nd 2013 and includes all our stock of fine antique furniture. 

While we always strive to make sure that we offer exceptional value for money year round on our genuine items of Antique Office Furniture and more, during our sale we can offer our clients even better deals.

This year we are offering 10% off nearly all our stock as well as free delivery of desks and tables to all parts of the mainland UK.  For customers outside the UK we offer (as always) very competitive international shipping rates whether these be by road in the EU and by ship or airfreight to customers further afield

The only stock not in our Spring Sale is that related to our newly made custom leather desk and library chairs and newly made filing cabinets and storage (made to match our antique desks and tables). 

Our full stock list of sale items can be seen by following this link to our Antique Desks & More for Sale Page

Famous Antique Desk Makers

Famous Antique Desk Makers

Over the 30 plus years we have been in business Antiquedesks.net has sold literally thousands of pieces of high quality antique writing furniture including items of antique writing furniture that were made by the leading craftsmen and makers of their time, as well as those sold by the leading retailers who were in business at that time.

We have focused on English antique furniture and in particular London cabinet makers and retailers.  An archive of stock we have sold by English cabinet makers is included in our website www.antiquedesks.net - specifically on our Famous Desk Makers Page. On this page and its sub-directories we illustrate some exceptional examples of stock that we have owned and sold over the years and that can be directly attributed to various famous makers and retailers such as Gillows, Heal & Son, Shoolbred, Holland & Sons, Howard & Sons, Shapland & Petter etc etc.  Invariably the attribution is definite since famous makers of the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian periods were not shy of marking their furniture by imprints, labels or stock numbers. You will note that in many of the photo galleries of our stock we include photos of the labels or distinguishing marks.

These rare and fine pieces of furniture generally command premium prices, however we also stock pieces of undoubted provenance by sightly less well known cabinet makers and these genuine historic items can often be purchased from us for more modest amounts.  Two examples currently in stock include a simple antique writing desk c1830 by Thomas Mash of London (stamped) for only £675 (plus shipping if outside UK) and a fine antique walnut Dickens Desk by Bulstrode of Cambridge (stamped) at only £1395 (plus shipping if outside UK).

Small Antique Desks

While genuine antique desks of all shapes, styles and sizes remain popular, there is no doubt that desks in smaller sizes attract particular attention.  Probably because of how we live today these smaller desks suit modern properties and those wishing to work from home.

Antiquedesks.net always carries a wide range of small antique desks in its extensive stock.  These range from traditional small pedestal desks (e.g. Late Victorian walnut desk by the fmaous London retailer JAS Shoolbred (Tottenham Court Road - our ref 2062) through to purpose built writing desks such as the beautiful antique "Dickens Desk" we have in stock made by Bustrode of Cambridge (also in walnut - ref 4032).  Davenport writing desks remain popular and are surprisingly practicalo in todays world - they make great laptop work stations!. We also stock a range of smaller writing tables that can be used as desks - a fine early example in satin birch is exemplified by our stock ref 4032 (antique georgian padfoot writing table)

So - whether you need a small pedestal desk, Dickens desk or Davenport desk or even a small writing table, then Antiquedesks.net - the UK's leading antique desk specialist can help - remember we offer FREE UK mainland delivery on all our desks and tables and can also offer competitive shipping outside the UK to all parts of the world on most items.http://www.antiquedesks.net/stock/antique-small-desks.html

Restoration of Antique Desks and Writing Tables

One of the services that Antiquedesks.net offers is the bespoke restoration of antique desks and other fine items of antique writing and office furniture.  When buying an antique desk for stock we always search for pieces that are in the most complete original state, this usually means that restoration will be required to bring the item up to the high reatil standard that we offer to our Clients.  We would far rather restore an original peice ourselves than have to undo the work of a previous restorer, if such work is necessary.

Our restoration process covers many different areas. Firstly we always check the overall structure of the desk or table.  The structure is then re-built if required using exactly the same techniques as were used originally, this requires the skills of a professional cabinet maker.  We then address any issues surrounding the fittings or attachments, handles, locks, wheeled castors etc and replace or re-make as necessary.  (e.g. re-making any missing turned wooden handles).  We also cut keys to fit the original locks.  The next step is to address the appearance of the desk or table.  Any loose veneers are replaced or fixed, any scratches or dents addressed and the whole desk or table is coloured and hand waxed polished or french polished as necessary.

The final step is the fitting of a new leather writing surface (where appropriate) or the renovation  of an existing leather top.  Where possible we always try to retain the existing leather and re-wax to give it many years more life.  If a new leather is to be fitted then we try to keep the same colour and style as the original, or alternatively, work with our Client to fit a leather that meets their requirements for colour and style.  All our new leathers are hand dyed and hand tooled by our professional restorers.

Our overall aim in restoration is to retain as much originality as possible while producing a final product that is literally as good as new and ready for many years more service.

In addition to the restoration of antique desks and writing tables we also restore (and re-upholster) antique desk chairs and antique library chairs.

Examples of our antique desk restoration service can be seen on our Restoration page on our website - this also shows "before" and "after" photographs of various desks and tables.

As always our full stock of finely restored antique desks, tables and chairs for sale can been seen on the Antiquedesks.net stock page

Large Antique Desks

Large antique office desks used to feature mainly in corporate offices and businesses, nowadays however they are much more likely to be found in private home and home offices where they offer fantastic work space and lots of useful storage.

A short description of what we mean by a "large antique desk" can be seen below:

Description: Usually in the form of Twin Pedestal Partners Desks and classic Twin Pedestal Desks.

Sizes: Range in width from 60" (153cm) to 72" (183cm). Occasionally we stock desks with a width of 84" (213cm). Depth can vary from 30" (76cm) up to 48" (122cm). Height to the working surface is usually around 30" (76cm) and the height of the kneehole is around 24" (61cm)

Woods: Mahogany, Oak, Walnut and Burr Walnut, and occasionally Rosewood, Pitch Pine and Satinwood.

Ages: Dating from the early part of the 19thC (early 1800's) (Georgian, William IV, Regency), through the Victorian period and into the late Victorian Arts & Crafts period, the Edwardian era and into the reigns of George V and George VI
Configurations: Usually three piece construction for ease of transport. (Two pedestals and the top).

Prices: Good quality fully restored Large Desks start at around £2,500 and go up to £8,000, or more, for a very high quality desk of excellent provenance.
 
Examples of large antique desks that we currently have for sale can be found on our website as follows.  http://www.antiquedesks.net/stock/antique-large-desks.html

One particularly fine desk in this size range that we currently have in stock is a large mahogany desk made by the well known firm of Hamptons of Kensington.  More details of the 72" (183cm) wide desk can be found on our website at http://www.antiquedesks.net/stock/2074-antique-large-mahogany-pedestal-desk/index.html