What wood are these desks usually made from?

Mahogany, in nearly half of all titles. Oak comes second and walnut third. At the upper end you'll see satinwood, burr walnut, rosewood and amboyna, and at the lower end plain oak and pitch pine.

Which form turns up most often?

The pedestal or kneehole writing desk. "Pedestal" is in 305 titles and "kneehole" in another 70, with 28 more written as "knee hole". Roll-top and cylinder desks are about one in ten. Kidney-shaped desks, davenports and Carlton House desks each account for roughly one in twenty.

Do they all have leather tops?

No. Leather is named in 75 titles, so it's a feature rather than the norm for the category. Inlay is more widely spread, appearing in around a fifth of titles, with "inlaid mahogany" the commonest pairing.

How strictly is the Edwardian date used?

The core is 1900 to 1919, with 551 listings dated simply "Edwardian" and more given to the 1900s and 1910s. Only 404 of the 1,113 listings carry a clean year, though, and the dated field runs from 1800 to 1930. Titles combine labels too, along the lines of "Late Victorian Edwardian".

What is a Carlton House desk?

A writing table with a raised, curved superstructure of small drawers running round the back and sides. On Sellingantiques these are often paired with satinwood and Sheraton Revival in the title, and they sit at the top of the range.

Are named makers common in this category?

Not especially. A handful of firms recur, cited through makers' stamps, stamped locks or retailers' labels, and some pieces are only given as attributed. Where a name is there, those desks sit well above the median for their form.

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Antique Edwardian Desks

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Free-standing writing furniture from the Edwardian years and its edges, made for studies, offices and drawing rooms, and most often a mahogany desk with drawers either side of a kneehole.