How many come up for sale each year?

About twelve reach the market on Sellingantiques in a year, drawn from a sample of 99 listings. Fifty-five different dealers have listed one, so most dealers who handle the form handle it once rather than stocking it.

Why are they described in French terms?

The form began in France in the middle of the 18th century, and the vocabulary travelled with it. Thirty-four titles carry the word french. Secretaire appears in 65 of 99 titles. The French naming holds even on pieces described as Biedermeier or Swedish.

What woods turn up most often?

Mahogany leads, in 26 titles, twelve of them as "mahogany secretaire". Walnut follows in 16, and rosewood in nine. At the edges the woods get less usual: kingwood and tulipwood on the French inlaid examples, masur birch and birch burr on the Biedermeier ones, and single appearances for amboyna, Italian walnut and French cherrywood.

Are the dates in listings precise?

Mostly not. Thirty-eight listings are dated no more precisely than 19th Century, and another ten fall back on Victorian or Regency instead of a year. Thirty-five of the 99 carry a clean year, and the dated field spans 1750 to 1920. Decade-level entries are thin and spread, with the 1860s the largest cluster at nine. Titles often give a circa year the dated field doesn't, and the two sometimes disagree.

What is a marble-top abattant?

Exactly nine listings carry a marble top, and they are the same nine that mention marble at all. Several of those are titled as narrow and dated to the 1920s, which makes them a recognisable late group within the category.

Do any 18th-century examples appear?

Only four listings are given as 18th Century, and the earliest clean date is 1750, on a Dutch floral marquetry example. One outlier is labelled 17th Century. That early end is too thinly represented to describe as a group. The weight of the category sits in the 19th century.