Walnut Partners Pedestal Desk by Maple & Co.

A fine quality late Victorian period walnut partners pedestal desk by Maple and Co. of London. Of excellent construction in solid walnut , the top fitted with a sumptuous leather writing surface with gilt tooled decoration. One side with a series of 9 drawers , the reverse with a series of 3 drawers over a pair of cupboard doors. All fitted with their original solid brass hardware. All drawers and doors are lockable (keys supplied), the locks by Hobbs and Co.. The pedestals are raised on solid brass castors. The top is surrounded with a crisply carved gadrooned thumbnail border. The sides of the desk are of paneled construction. Offered for sale in excellent condition, with a great colour and patina, ready to go straight into the home or office. Splits into 3 sections for ease of installation.

Dimensions:

Width 152cms

Depth 98cms

Height 81cms

Knee-hole clearance 62.5cms

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.