What is the most common type of ladies desk?

An inlaid mahogany writing desk of Edwardian date. Mahogany leads the timbers, inlay appears in around a third of titles, and Edwardian is the commonest period label. That combination fills the middle of the range, and the same phrasing repeats across dealers word for word.

Which form sells at the top of the range?

The Carlton House desk. Seventeen titles carry the name, nine of them pairing it with satinwood, and the highest-priced piece in the sample is one. Marquetry French examples also occupy several of the upper places.

How old are these desks?

The dated listings run from 1800 to 1930. Edwardian, the 1900s and the 1910s together outweigh the Victorian brackets by a clear margin. A handful of Regency and Georgian attributions appear, and one entry dated to the eighteenth century, but those are single instances rather than a supply you'll find repeated. About 108 of the 243 listings carry a clean year; the rest give a period name only.

Are French examples sold under this heading?

Yes, and they make up roughly a tenth of titles. Bonheur du jour, bureau de dame, bureau plat and an Empire bureau du dame all appear, often in kingwood with parquetry or ormolu mounts. Origins beyond England and France are thin on the ground: Anglo-Indian and Scottish each show up once in the sample.

Do many desks carry a maker's name?

Few. Maple & Co is the one firm handled by more than a couple of dealers, and a scattering of other names appear once or twice each, stamped, labelled or given as an attribution. Where a firm is named in the title, the piece sits in the upper half of the range.

How many come up for sale each year?

Around 21 ladies' desks are listed on Sellingantiques in a year, and 104 different dealers have handled one. That's close to one dealer for every two listings, so the category is spread thinly across the trade rather than held by a few specialists.

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Antique Ladies Desks

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A lady's desk is small writing furniture built for a corner of a drawing room or a bedroom, made for letters rather than for business at a study table.