Victorian Dickens Desk by Maple & Co.

A fine quality late Victorian period pollard oak dickens pedestal desk by Maple & Co. of London. Very well constructed in solid oak with attractive pollard oak veneers and mahogany drawer linings. With a central lift-up writing slope flanked by banks of short drawers. The slope lifts up to reveal an interior with stationary compartments. The writing surfaces are fitted with sumptuous red leathers completed with gilt tooled decorations to the surrounds. The base of the desk with a series of 8 short drawers. The writing slope and all drawers are lockable (keys supplied) and the drawers are all fitted with their original solid brass handles. Sympathetically repolished in our workshops and now offered for sale in excellent condition. With a a wonderful warm colour and patina, ready to go straight into the home or office. Splits into 3 sections for ease of installation.

Dimensions:

Width 125cms

Depth 70cms

Overall height 112cms

Height of desk top 75cms

Kneehole height 57cms

Maple & Co was established by John Maple, a shopkeeper from Horley, Surrey, who later opened a furniture shop in Tottenham Court Road. However it was his son, John Blundell Maple , who made Maples & Co a success. With exceptional business skills, John B. Maple took over the company while still a young man. By the 1880s they were the largest furniture store in the world, exported their fine furniture to every continent.

Maples manufactured their luxury furniture entirely in-house, at a huge modern complex. A timber importer and furniture exporter, they landed prestigious contracts furnishing fine houses, hotels, embassies and palaces in Europe; among them Tsar Nicholas’s Winter Palace and the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna . With his own empire established, John Blundell Maple achieved further fame in politics and horseracing – some lines, such as the Atherstoke antique cabinet, having racing connections in the titles.

Never compromising on quality, Maples produced a huge catalogue of fine furniture, covering every avenue of interior design. A Maples & Co sale today would cover everything from Chippendale Revival antique dining chairs , to Aesthetic style carved oak dressers, to Art Nouveau tulip carved antique dining tables – all from the same catalogue.

The exclusivity and high quality of craftsmanship of Maples’ antique cabinets, dining suites and bedroom furniture made them highly popular with Britain’s social elite. Today, they appeal to anyone who appreciates fine craftsmanship.