Are lamp tables an original antique type?

No. Small portable tables for a light, a glass or a book go back to the eighteenth century, when candlestands, wine tables and tripod tables did the job. "Lamp table" is a later, largely retail term, applied from the age of oil and then electric lamps to any small occasional table of the right height beside a chair. On Sellingantiques it sits on pieces from the 1680s to the 1930s.

Which timber turns up most often?

Mahogany, by a wide margin, mostly in English pieces titled as side or occasional tables. Oak is next, then walnut and rosewood. Beyond that mainstream the samples throw up single examples in padouk, calamander, laburnum, amboyna, palisander, Goncalo Alves, alder root, chestnut, satin birch, elm root and wych elm.

Why do titles list so many different uses?

Because the name reflects how the dealer expects the table to be used rather than a fixed original type. Side, occasional, wine, hall, console, centre and sewing all get piled into one description. One sampled table is offered simultaneously as lamp, side, hall, wine and console.

How many are listed in a year?

Around 296 a year, and 283 different dealers have offered one. That makes it a category almost every general furniture dealer touches, which is part of why the range of timbers, periods and origins is so wide.

Do they come in pairs or sets?

Yes. Pairs account for a good number of titles, and the samples include nests of three and four and a set of three English lamp tables. Multiples sit toward the top of the range.

What non-English tables appear in the category?

French pieces are the largest group outside English work, including gueridons and bouillotte forms, often with marble tops. Swedish, Italian, Portuguese, Scandinavian and Dutch titles also appear. A smaller but steady slice covers Chinese elm and hardwood, Qing pieces, Burmese padouk, Indian teak, Japanese work, and bamboo and rattan.