Amazing Vintage Writing Desk Find!

[UncleRJ]

 I have a habit of visiting Antique Stores looking for Fountain Pens and Tobacco Pipes to restore.

 

And when I heard of a new shop in my area, I called them and was told they had a handful of pipes in stock.

 

I went to check them out only to find that they were beyond restoration but since I was already there, I decided to look around and found a wonderful, solid Mahogany writing desk!

 

The finish, inside and out is in really great shape, especially if you take the fact that the estimated age is 100 years old, except for the very top which can be easily and quickly restored with the help of a sander and some stain.

 

And the writing surface is a HUGE 28" Wide.

 

So I got the owner and started haggling over the price which ended up being $150 INCLUDING DELIVERY!!

 

I was almost out the door when she called me back in saying she needed to show me something "Special" about my new desk.

 

Turns out that the desk had Two Secret Compartments!

 

Sorry in advance for the poor quality of the picture (Which does not do the desk justice)nd the messy surroundings of the garage where I am storing it until I move into a new home later this month

 

 

[JohnUphill]

Nice find! Does the writing surface have support beneath it?

[UncleRJ]

It has big beefy supports that slide out when you open it.

 

Really Sturdy!

[Mr Bill]

Hello UncleRJ, My Aunt has the identical desk or at least darn near.

As youngsters we were never allowed anywhere near it, I was in my

mid 20's when she shared the secret compartments with me. If my

memory serves hers was made in 1929. To this day it is still pristine.

[Paul-in-SF]

Gorgeous desk. I love little drawers and pigeonholes!

 

Have you investigated the quality of construction at all? For example, the big drawers all look a little loose in their enclosures, do you have any ambitions along the line of fixing those up? How is the veneer on the sides? Often the inner wood can shrink over time, making the veneer buckle and crack. But there are ways to fix that (check out Thomas Johnson Antique Restoration on YouTube for some examples). 

[BlueJ]

My wife has nearly the identical desk, except hers has three small drawers in place of the hinged door at top center. She uses it every day, and it was in her family a long time.

[UncleRJ]

Due to the fact that taking care of 5 acres and a 2,000 Sq Ft house, we are moving to a Quiet Condominium community to be closer to our Kids AND the fact that my Mrs. HATES my HUGE PC desk and wants to donate it to a charity, I found it necessary to find a new desk before we move and I consider myself fortunate to have found this item by accident!

 

With the desk closed, there is room inside large enough to store a wireless keyboard as well as having enough room to put a monitor on top which is the perfect height to view when seated.

 

Can't wait to get it out of temporary storage in my garage and move it to my Sanctum Sanctorium!

 

 

[UncleRJ]

On 4/2/2021 at 4:36 PM, Paul-in-SF said:

Gorgeous desk. I love little drawers and pigeonholes!

 

Have you investigated the quality of construction at all? For example, the big drawers all look a little loose in their enclosures, do you have any ambitions along the line of fixing those up? How is the veneer on the sides? Often the inner wood can shrink over time, making the veneer buckle and crack. But there are ways to fix that (check out Thomas Johnson Antique Restoration on YouTube for some examples). 

The sides are in great shape but the top needs some TLC.

 

The drawers are in great shape but they are sticking out in the picture.

[TinyTim]

What a wonderful desk and find. Specially when you are downsizing and this just falls into your lap.  

Out of curiosity where are the secret compartments? and how do they open

[poxy51]

I like the desk too, since it is veneer, you cannot sand any scratches out--or is that just plain a no-no?

[PortlyParson]

Simply gorgeous! Nice find!

[Chibi_Rat]

Congratulations on the amazing find!

It's truly gorgeous and I'm sure it'll look even better once you're done restoring it

[inkstainedruth]

That's a really great price!  I paid more for a little Arts and Crafts style writing place I found a few years ago in some town in eastern Indiana that had a bunch of antiques stores and one bigger antiques mall.  And it doesn't have the drawers underneath (it's more open, although there is a bit of a shelf) and does NOT have the automatically sliding out supports.  OTOH, it's small enough to fit in between a couple of nice looking 3 shelf fold-out bookcases I got back when Pier1 was still in business in the wall space between the bedroom door and the bed.

For having a big old house with reasonably sized to large rooms, there is not a lot of available wall space.  There are really large windows on both the first and second floors, and some of the space underneath those windows is taken up by big honking old-fashioned radiators with covers over a lot of them.  The adjoining wall on the other side of the doorway has a laundry hamper, then the monstrosity of a dental cabinet I bought last year for pen storage just as stuff was going into lockdown -- and haven't yet (in over a year at this point) gotten the drawers refinished or the replacement knobs painted and found the right size AND length screws....  [The third wall has two windows and a very large radiator, and then a vinyl fabric wardrobe that the cats largely destroyed in the corner.  Fourth wall has another window, and a Parson's table and one of the dining room chairs and my husband's old dresser squeezed in between the  bed and that wall....]

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Misfit]

Very cool desk, great find. 

[awaking]

Great find!  

 

My sister managed to get herself a similar desk and loves using it.  That is going to give you a lot of pleasure.

 

I must admit my fantasy desk is the AJ52 society table writing desk though.  Told my partner I would take one instead of an engagement ring and he said that's a reason not to propose 🤣

[Honeybadgers]

Gonna tease us by saying there's two secret compartments but not SHOW us?

[inkstainedruth]

But then they wouldn't be secret, would they? 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth