Drop Front Drawers
Drop front drawers are ingenious writing cabinets and chests with folding writing surfaces that conceal fitted compartments, offering practical writing space and storage.
Drop Front Drawers
Drop front drawers encompass a variety of writing furniture, from compact music cabinets to grand bureau bookcases. The most common form on this page is the traditional bureau or secretaire, where the hinged front lowers to create a writing desk.
Pieces span several centuries and regional styles, appearing in mahogany, oak, walnut and burr walnut. You will encounter Georgian and Edwardian examples alongside Continental pieces like French secretaire a abattant cabinets and Swedish birch chests.
What varies in quality
The refinement of the interior pigeonholes and the choice of external veneers dictate the distinction between standard and superior pieces. Figures on the walnut or mahogany face reveal the care taken in selecting timber for visual impact.
Original brass hardware, smooth action in the drop front hinges and the cleverness of the internal secret drawers separate simpler utilitarian items from master cabinet work.
Some secretaire chests hide cunning secret drawers behind dummy pigeonholes, designed to outsmart prying eyes.
The Drop Front Drawers Glossary
- Secretaire
- A piece of furniture containing a writing drawer or drop front compartment. It often takes the form of a chest of drawers or a tall cabinet with a horizontal writing flap.
- Bureau
- A desk with a sloping hinged lid that covers a collection of drawers and pigeonholes. In British usage this refers to a writing cabinet rather than an office desk.
- Abattant
- A vertical fall front panel that drops down to form a writing surface. This term is typically used on Continental furniture such as French cabinets.
- Escritoire
- An antique writing cabinet or desk. The term derives from French and appears in descriptions of early walnut writing furniture.
- Marquetry
- Decorative veneer work arranged in intricate patterns using different coloured woods. It ornaments the surfaces of select Continental and Georgian pieces.
Drop Front Drawers: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a drop front desk?
A drop front desk is a cabinet featuring a hinged writing flap that pulls down or folds forward for use. When closed, the flap conceals small drawers and pigeonholes.
These pieces combine the utility of a writing surface with the enclosed storage of a chest or cabinet.
How do I date an antique bureau?
Dating relies on timber choices, construction methods and stylistic details like bracket feet or handles. Oak and walnut predominate in earlier periods, while mahogany becomes widespread later.
Secondary timbers inside the drawers and the style of the internal pigeonholes also offer clues to the decade of manufacture.
Where were secretaire cabinets used?
Secretaire cabinets served as private writing desks and storage units in principal rooms of period homes. They allowed correspondence and documents to be locked away securely.
Bedrooms, libraries and withdrawing rooms frequently housed these versatile pieces of furniture.
What is the difference between a bureau and a chest?
A bureau incorporates a sloping or folding writing flap above lower drawers. A standard chest of drawers provides only horizontal drawer storage without a writing surface.
Many secretaire chests combine both forms by hiding a drop front writing drawer at the top of a regular chest.