What wood are reading tables usually made from?

Mahogany, on the evidence of the titles. It's named in 87 of 177, roughly half, and no other timber comes close. Oak, walnut and rosewood follow at some distance. Kingwood, satinwood, ebony, burr elm, cedar, fruitwood, yew and pine each surface only once or twice across the whole sample.

How old are most antique reading tables?

The dealers' own dating runs from 1800 to 1930. Only 53 of the 177 listings carry a clean year, so for the rest the period is a style attribution rather than a date. "19th Century" is the label used most, ahead of Victorian, Regency and Georgian. Decade labels are thin and scattered across the 1850s through the 1910s. A handful of samples carry an 18th Century label, and a few reach into the 1920s.

Are over-bed and invalid tables part of this category?

Yes, and they form a small but steady seam. Titles include over-chair rise-and-fall tables, adjustable invalid tables, bed and chair tables, and a cast-iron adjustable bed table described as a mobility aid. They work on the cantilever principle: an offset or weighted base carrying a top that swings across the sitter. The plainer late examples sit at the lower end of the range.

What does a duet stand mean in these listings?

A double-sided top, so two readers or players face each other across it. The arrangement accounts for roughly one title in twelve, appearing as duet music stands, rise-and-fall duet music tables and recital stands.

Do reading tables carry maker's names?

Rarely in the titles. Two sample titles mention a maker's label or a patent, and one Lancaster workshop appears in eight, sometimes stated and sometimes only as an attribution or as being in that manner. Patent and trade-named stands are a small recurring seam, including several titled as patent adjustable reading tables.

Which forms are the most unusual?

The odd ones come up as one-offs rather than types. A papier mache and lacquer reading stand, a four-tier whatnot with an adjustable reading slope, and a Sutherland reading table have all appeared. So has an Art Deco chrome and walnut over-bed stand, at the later end of the dating. Metamorphic pieces are a scattered minority: side table into lectern, wine table with a reading stand, hall table that becomes a reading slope.

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Antique Reading Tables

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A small table or stand whose top tilts on a ratchet, or whose column rises, so a book, sheet of music or drawing sits at an angle for the reader.

A Fine Regency Mahogany & Ebony Writing Table in the Manner of Marsh & Tatham.

19th century

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A Fine Regency Mahogany & Ebony Writing Table in the Manner of Marsh & Tatham.

From Stuart Nicolson Antiques

£1,675

FOR SALE

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19th century

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Early 19th-century Mahogany Music Table with Brass Inlay

From Colton Antiques

£1,150

FOR SALE

tables

19th century

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19th Century Rosewood Writing Table

From Martlesham Antiques

£4,250

FOR SALE

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Gillows of Lancaster: William IV Rosewood Writing, Reading, Work Table

19th century

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Gillows of Lancaster: William IV Rosewood Writing, Reading, Work Table

From Quiet Street Antiques of Bath

£3,650

FOR SALE

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Attractive Antique Victorian Cast Iron Adjustable Bed Table, Mobility Aid

19th century

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Attractive Antique Victorian Cast Iron Adjustable Bed Table, Mobility Aid

From Abacus Antiques

£295

FOR SALE

tables

Antique Carters of London Oak and Cast-iron Adjustable Table

1900 - 1920

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Antique Carters of London Oak and Cast-iron Adjustable Table

From Village Vintage

£395

FOR SALE

tables

19th century

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Small Regency Mahogany Writing Table

From LTANTIQUES.CO.UK

£795

FOR SALE

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19th century

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19th Century George III Period Mahogany Reading Table

From Anthony Short Antiques

£2,900

FOR SALE

tables

Edwardian Mahogany Adjustable Reading Table

1900 - 1920

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Edwardian Mahogany Adjustable Reading Table

From John Howkins Antiques

£425

FOR SALE

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An Antique Mahogany Occasional Table with Adjustable Reading Stand

19th century

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An Antique Mahogany Occasional Table with Adjustable Reading Stand

From Culvertons

£575

FOR SALE

tables

Among the one-offs to pass through: a papier mache and lacquer reading stand, a four-tier whatnot with an adjustable slope, and an Art Deco chrome over-bed stand.

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Antique Reading Tables

A Fine Regency Mahogany & Ebony Writing Table in the Manner of Marsh & Tatham.

Early 19th-century Mahogany Music Table with Brass Inlay

19th Century Rosewood Writing Table

Gillows of Lancaster: William IV Rosewood Writing, Reading, Work Table

Attractive Antique Victorian Cast Iron Adjustable Bed Table, Mobility Aid

Antique Carters of London Oak and Cast-iron Adjustable Table

Small Regency Mahogany Writing Table

19th Century George III Period Mahogany Reading Table

Edwardian Mahogany Adjustable Reading Table

An Antique Mahogany Occasional Table with Adjustable Reading Stand

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