Mahogany Writing Desk by Maple & Co

A lovely late Victorian period mahogany writing desk by Maple & Co of London. Of very good construction in solid mahogany with mahogany veneers. Embellished with blind fret work decorations throughout in the manner of Thomas Chippendale. The superstructure has an arrangement of 2 pairs of short stationary drawers which are surmounted by a wavy form gallery. The main body of the table is fitted with a green leather writing surface and has a pair of drawers to the freeze. All standing on long tapering legs which terminate in their original solid brass caps and castors. Cleaned and waxed in our workshops and now offered for sale in very good original condition.

Dimensions:

Width 102cms

Depth 56cms

Overall height 95cms

Table height 75.5cms

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.