# Southern Antiques/Chapter 14

XIV
DESKS AND SECRETARIES
CERTAINLY as far as the South is concerned, the desk is its most distinguished piece of furniture when the uses to which it was put are recalled. Washington, Jefferson, Mason, Madison, and Monroe spent much of their time at their desks, writing state papers and the
Carved Bible box
many interminable letters of that day that had to do with public affairs.
The term desk, now in general use in America, denotes any object of furniture used for writing purposes. Bureau, the English term for an inclosed writing cabinet, is one of the many names for the desk. The modern use of the word, secretary, is from the French word, scriptoire, meaning to write, and scrutoire. Secretary, today, means a desk with a bookcase top.
The origin of the slant-top desk is the simple Bible box. This box was used as a stand to hold the Bible, or on which to write, and was made from various native woods. The few found in the South are made of oak, decorated with carving. The early colonial gentleman must, of course, learn to write, particularly with long letters to be sent back to England, and the Bible box was put upon a stand and made to take the form of a desk. In 1690 a chest, with a top having a solid fall board, enclosing drawers and pigeonholes, came into use. This was one of the forerunners of the secretary. Few of this type are known in the South, and those few are of English origin.
In the first half of the eighteenth century, the desk took many forms. The slant-top desk, with drawers below, was the most popular, and continued so with the
Fall-front desk
Among the various types of desks employed at the beginning of the second quarter of the eighteenth century was the secretary-desk, consisting of a bookcase
Desk on frame
resting on a slant-top desk. In the hands of Chippendale it became a thing of beauty; and Southern cabinetmakers did not fail to grasp some of its possibilities. Secretaries with arched tops and ogee feet became popular. Cabinets with serpentine drawer fronts were a favorite design. Walnut, in most instances, with mahogany at times, was employed to fine effect. Walnut was, in fact, the favorite wood in all states except Maryland, until the middle of the eighteenth century, when mahogany came into full sway. The finest pieces after 1750 were mahogany.
The influence of Hepplewhite and Sheraton were felt about 1795, and pleased as Southern craftsmen were with the classic line and more delicate ornamentation, they inlaid their pieces, and many slant-top desks are found with French feet. Many tambour desks and tables for writing purposes, made in the South, show the influence of these two English designers. Rural furniture makers even tried hard to reproduce the designs of Hepplewhite and Sheraton in native woods, as shown in this book. Another form of secretary was popular at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It resembled a chest of drawers with a bookcase top. The top drawer was very deep, and enclosed a writing cabinet. This style had appeared in the South as early as 1750. Southern secretaries became heavy under the Empire influence. The work, however, was of a high order.
It may be noted that the demand among collectors today for small desks not over thirty-six inches in width, is open to question. There is no reason apparent why such selection should be made. The choice of a desk for fine workmanship and good qualiity does not depend on its being small. Many small desks have poor cabinets; in many cases improved by fakers. Many of the so-called small desks were originally large, and cut down to meet the requirements of the trade. A further question is, whether, in actually buying the desk, the collector is able to distinguish the actual width of what he is after when the piece ​is placed in a large room, without measuring it.
PLATES
PLATE I. Child's Slant-Top Desk with Well—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1720-1730). Here is an early walnut piece, with the double-arch moulding around the drawers. Single-arch moulding was of an earlier date. The well compartment, as it is known, is the compartment beneath the writing surface of the desk, covered by a sliding lid, which is part of the floor of the cabinet. The brasses, which are also original, help to set the date on this piece. Small pieces such as this, built especially for children, or as models, are much sought for. This desk was found in a negro cabin on the Rappahannock River. (Property of Mrs. E. M. Crutchfield).
PLATE II. Paneled-Door Secretary with Well—Walnut. (North Carolina—c. 1740). This secretary, built with a well, shows an exceptionally fine cabinet for the type that it represents. This early secretary, as the date indicates, was made in the Queen Anne period, but does not show any of the marked characteristics of that period, except perhaps the shell in the interior. The size of this type varies from thirty-six to forty-two inches in width. The smaller size is, of course, the most sought after, but they are rarely found with so fine a cabinet. (Property of Mrs. Robert M. Pulliam).
PLATE III. Top—Queen Anne Desk—Walnut. (North Carolina—c. 1710-1740). This type Queen Anne desk, which is in fact a desk on frame, and a style from which many modern desks are copied, is rare, and few are found. Due to this, the type is often faked by placing the top of a short desk on a table frame. (Property of Joe Kindig, Jr.).
PLATE III. Bottom—Knee-Hole Desk—Walnut. (c. 1750-1760). Although this desk is believed to be of English origin, and the drawers are lined with oak, it is illustrated to show the type, and mainly because it was the property of Patrick Henry, Virginia's patriot, orator, and soldier. Desks of the knee-hole type are found throughout the South. (Property of J. Pope Nash).
PLATE IV. Chippendale Desk—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1760-1770). This desk shows a cabinet of highest quality. The serpentine drawer was a favorite design among Southern workmen, and much care was given to the making of the cabinet, while the exterior was often left very plain. The wooden knobs replace the original brasses. The desk was the property of one of the foremost leaders of Presbyterianism in Virginia in the middle of the eighteenth century. (Property of Union Theological Seminary).
PLATE V. Chippendale Secretary—Walnut. (Georgia—c. 1760-1770). This carefully executed Chippendale secretary presents an interesting study in the cornice top. The term "broken arch" is often used erroneously to refer to the top shown on Plate VI. Notes made by a Charleston cabinetmaker of the third quarter of the ​eighteenth century reveal that Plate VI was known to him as a "scroll pediment," while the type illustrated in this plate was referred to as "broken arch pediment." The candle slides in the base of the top are a distinctive feature. The cabinet reveals a high type of workmanship. Secretaries of this type are, as a general rule, very tall. (Property of J. K. Beard).
PLATE VI. Chippendale Double-Swell Front Secretary—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1760-1770). This exceptionally fine piece shows beauty in design and workmanship. The choice wood adds further to its charm. The double-swell front employed is sometimes known as the oxbow front. Although this is not a type found in quantity in the South, occasionally fine examples of such workmanship are discovered. This piece is believed to have been a part of the original furnishings of the Nelson House at Yorktown. (Property of Mrs. A. G. Ryland).
PLATE VII. Chippendale Secretary—Walnut. (North Carolina—c. 1770-1800). This Chippendale secretary is unique. The arched door resembles the door of many cupboards found in Western North Carolina. The drop-front style is shown here as of a period before it became popular in the South. The fluted pilasters, and the inlay at the top add distinction to the piece. This secretary was made by John Wills, of Gaston County, for Zenas Alexander, who gave it to his wife Margaret at the time of their marriage; hence the initials M.A. in the rosettes of the scroll top. In 1826 Zenas Alexander bequeathed this piece to his son, Robert Alexander, who at that time had his name inlaid across the top. Robert Alexander was the grandfather of the present owner. (Property of Odom Alexander).
PLATE VIII. Top—Hepplewhite Secretary-Bookcase—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1790). This is a winged bookcase. The center encloses a writing cabinet, and the general shape of the center is the same as illustrated in Plate XII, with the cupboards added at the sides. The tracery of the doors is an interesting feature.
PLATE VIII. Right—Hepplewhite Secretary—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1790). This piece of curly walnut shows the slant-top desk with the French feet and an interesting design in the doors of the bookcase top. Like many pieces found in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it is made of curly walnut. (Property of Joe Kindig, Jr.).
PLATE VIII. Left—Chippendale Desk—Mahogany. (South Carolina—c. 1765). A slant-top desk of exceptional width, and made to order by Jacob Sass, of Charleston, in 1765. It is about five feet in width. Much furniture is found in Charleston attributed to Sass, and this desk is marked by him. In the Pringle House. (Property of Miss Susan B. Frost).
PLATE IX. Sheraton Secretary—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1780-1790). One of the finest American secretaries discovered. It was handed down for three ​generations by a family in Albemarle County. The eagle with shield and thirteen stars on its breast appear at the top. An inlaid eagle is shown on the roll top. The back of the desk and bookcase is paneled; the frame is Southern pine with poplar panels; the interior door has the initials L. B. burnt in; and the drawer linings are oak.
PLATE X. Hepplewhite Tambour Desk—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1790-1800). Much of interest attaches to this tambour desk, with French feet of the Hepplewhite style, and inlay, with carving. The carved shell of odd type is unusual. Tambour doors such as these which are often found in the South, on desks of fine workmanship, indicate that the product has been made in some furniture center. This tambour is secured by gluing strips of wood to a canvas or heavy cloth. (Property of Mrs. J. G. Hayes).
PLATE XI. Top—Hepplewhite Tambour Desk—Mahogany. (Maryland—c. 1790). Desks of this type are found made in varying degrees of workmanship throughout the South. Some are finely inlaid with the bellflower design, and now command a high price. Some are found with a bookcase top.
PLATE XI. Bottom—Hepplewhite Desk—Walnut. (North Carolina—c. 1790-1800). Here the rural workman copied in native wood the finer type Hepplewhite desk. Desks with solid wood doors are frequently found. (Property of Ralph P. Hanes).
PLATE XII. Sheraton Fall-Front Secretary—Mahogany. (Maryland—c. 1800). This fall-front desk, a labeled piece, shows fine workmanship, and is of a type that was popular throughout the South. (Property of Mrs. W. W. Hubbard).
PLATE XIII. Sheraton Fall-Front Secretary—Mahogany. (South Carolina—c. 1800). This secretary is made in the same style as that illustrated in Plate XII, except that it shows the eagle inlaid pediment. The interior is of satinwood. Although rather large, it is finely made throughout, and in a large room in one of the old houses of Charleston its size is not apparent. (Property of Mrs. S. B. Pringle).
PLATE XIV. Sheraton Secretary—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1800). The workman here, under the influence of the designs of both Hepplewhite and Sheraton, tried his skill with native walnut. The piece is embellished with inlay, and ovals of flowers inlaid at the top of the legs. There is a cylinder top to the desk, with a slide that pulls out when the lid is raised. This writing slide has two wells for writing equipment. The spade foot is of Hepplewhite design. (Property of Mrs. F. B. Crowninshield).
PLATE XV. Sheraton Secretary—Mahogany. (South Carolina—c. 1810). Two views of a desk, as a means of showing the beginner that it is not always well to hold back on purchasing a fine piece because of its unprepossessing appearance. Top illustration shows "in the rough," in ​the parlance of the antique dealer, the product as it is found; the bottom illustration shows it as refinished. The replacing of the partitions in the doors was a small item, but the patches on drawer fronts were more difficult. This type of secretary is found throughout the United States, and was made in all sections. The handles, which do not show well in the illustration, have the eagle and thirteen-star design. (Property of Miss Lucy Stuckey).
PLATE XVI. Empire Secretary—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1820). This type secretary was very popular in all the Southern states. Pieces like this are large and heavy, but the workmanship is of high quality. The lion's-paw feet are found on all types of Empire furniture along with the pineapple motif, as shown in the columns. The doors of this secretary are worthy of note. (Property of Mrs. Gabriel Cannon).
PLATE I
PLATE II
PLATE III
PLATE IV
PLATE V
PLATE VI
PLATE VII
PLATE VIII
PLATE IX
PLATE X
PLATE XI
PLATE XII
PLATE XIII
PLATE XIV
PLATE XV
PLATE XVI