How often do book troughs come up for sale?

Around a dozen come to market on Sellingantiques in a year, so the category moves steadily rather than in waves. Forty-one different dealers have listed one. That means the typical dealer has handled a single trough rather than a run of them.

Are there Georgian book troughs?

Not in this archive. The dated field starts at 1880 and runs to 1930, and nothing is claimed as earlier. Where you see Georgian Revival, Regency style or George III style, those are revival descriptions of later pieces. They tell you about the look, not the date.

What woods were used?

Mahogany and oak dominate, together covering almost three-quarters of titles. Mahogany appears in 35, oak in 25. The outliers are where it gets interesting. Satinwood, satin walnut, sycamore, apple wood and boxwood each turn up once or twice across the whole sample.

Which period do most examples date from?

The concentration is 1900 to 1919. Eighteen listings are dated to the 1900s, 17 to the 1910s and 17 simply as Edwardian. The 1920s account for ten. The thinnest decades are the 1880s, 1890s and 1930s, with three or four listings each.

Do book troughs come in pairs?

Rarely. Three sample titles offer troughs as a pair, and dealers say so in the title because it's unusual. All three sit in the upper half of the range.

Were book troughs made outside England?

Overwhelmingly English. The word "english" appears in eight titles, against two Irish pieces, one Scottish and one Italian in the entire sample. That isn't enough to describe Continental production as a group. It's a handful of one-offs.

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Antique Troughs

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A book trough is a small open wooden cradle, usually V-sided and standing on short legs or feet, made to hold a handful of books or magazines upright on a desk, a table or beside a chair.