What wood are pedestal desks usually made from?

Mahogany leads the titles by a wide margin, with oak next and walnut close behind it. Burr walnut alone is named in 178 of them. Beyond those three the archive holds a scattering of satin birch, Hungarian ash, pollard and burr oak, teak, padauk, kingwood, rosewood and burr elm. Pine and pitch pine turn up at the cheaper end.

How many drawers does a pedestal desk have?

Nine is the common Victorian arrangement: three across the frieze and three in each pedestal. "9 Drawer" and "nine drawer" recur through the titles. Partners' desks run higher, with sampled examples at twelve and eighteen drawers because both sides are fitted. Single-pedestal desks carry fewer.

Why are some described as three part?

The top lifts off the two pedestals, so the desk travels as three pieces rather than one. It is a construction note dealers put in the title. It turns up regularly on Victorian and Edwardian twin-pedestal desks, which are the bulk of what comes through.

Are pedestal desks and kneehole desks the same thing?

They sit under the same heading and both have a recess for the legs. The difference is construction: a pedestal desk has two separate banks of drawers under a top, a kneehole desk has its drawers in one continuous carcase. Kneehole desks are roughly a tenth of the archive and include most of the 18th-century entries.

What dates do these desks cover?

Dealer-entered dates run from 1700 to 1960. Victorian is much the commonest label, followed by Edwardian and then decade labels through the 1860s to the 1930s. A further group is given only as "19th Century". Pre-1800 pieces are a small tail, with "georgian" in 78 titles and "18th" in 36.

Which makers are named on pedestal desks?

Four firms recur across dealer listings: Maple & Co, which appears most often, then Edwards & Roberts, James Shoolbred and Waring and Gillow. The name comes from a stamp or a label, or is given as an attribution. Plenty of desks say only "with makers stamp" or "London Maker" without going further.

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Antique Pedestal Desks

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A flat writing desk whose top sits on two banks of drawers with a kneehole between them, made free-standing so it could be worked at from a chair drawn in.