Maple and Co. Inlaid Mahogany Carlton House Desk

A splendid Edwardian period inlaid mahogany Carlton house desk by Maple and Co of London. Of very good construction in solid mahogany with attractive flame mahogany veneers. The superstructure with an arrangement of drawers, cupboards and stationary compartments. The table with one long drawer, flanked by a pair of shorter drawers (all lockable, key supplied). Decorated with inlaid detailing throughout and fitted with a sumptuous brown leather writing surface. Finished to the rear so could be free standing within a room if desired. All standing on elegant tapering legs which terminate in their original solid brass castors. Offered for sale in excellent original condition, cleaned and waxed in our workshops and ready to go straight into the home or office.

Dimensions:

Width 122cms

Depth 65cms

Height 102cms

Knee hole clearance 60cms

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.