page_title: Lap desk
section_title: Antique lap desk
hierarchical_section_title: Lap desk / Antique lap desk
caption_attribution_description: English: Interior view of antique wooden lap desk. The small compartments would have held pens, an inkwell, and other writing materials. It dates from the 18th or early 19th century.
context_page_description: The lap desk is both an antique and modern form.
context_section_description: As an antique the lap desk is a smaller variant of the writing slope. It is also called a writing box or a writing cabinet.  In certain instances it is known as a portable desk, a term which is usually applied to larger forms.  Most antique lap desks are really meant to be used on a table or some other stable surface.  They are often strongly built of fine hardwoods like mahogany or walnut.
  Antique lap desks had hinged writing surfaces, often covered in leather, felt, or other material, that flip up to reveal storage space for papers. Individual compartments were designed to hold inkwells, pens, sealing wax, and other contemporary writing materials. Some desks also had concealed storage compartments.
caption: An antique lap desk
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