Posted 10 years ago
hofhine68
(1 item)
This is an old Captain's Desk that I just love. The leather writing surface was replaced with a piece of green felt a very long time ago, and the felt is now shrunken and deteriorated.
The locks are by the Eagle Lock Company, Terryville, Connecticut and I have the keys to most of the locks.
It has some damage: there is a piece missing off the top, and the veneer is starting to come off in places, a few elements were glued back on over the years (but not very carefully). I am hoping to have it restored.
I wish I knew where it might have come from and how old it might be! My guess is very late 1800's or early 1900's.
Anyone have any ideas?
Beautiful desk-- I'd call it a Davenport desk.
It has some elements of Eastlake on it and I would date it from the same time period-- about 1870- 1890s.
When it comes to restoration, I'd recommend the adage "LESS IS MORE".
Get someone who does quality work with antique furniture. Don't get the entire piece refinished-- replace the missing pieces/ veneers and match the old finish.
scott
Thanks Scott! I agree that less is more and the intent is just to correct the poorly done repairs and fabricate/replace the missing parts, although without a drawing or photo I am stumped as to what the missing top portion might have looked like.
I wouldn't add anything to the top.
Maybe do some removeable wood plugs to better hide the pin holes and make it less obvious that something else was once on top.
scott
OK, let's look at the parts of the whole that we can see in pictures. Picture #1 shows the dovetailed drawers but not clearly. What I see there would be 1870's or earlier and well done assuming the drawers are original. Picture #2 doesn't say a great deal. Now #3 has a bit more to say. Notice the raised panels at the bottom and the slat construction at the top. This was sitting where the bottom was exposed to view so raised panels were cosmetic. I can think of a dozen places where it may have been used but not as a captains desk.
This surly had another cabinet on the top. The top has dust panels so the upper piece was removable and probably fairly large based on what I can see of the peg holes.
Thank you, fhrjr2. I edited the post to change out one of the photos to show the top better and you are correct in that the peg holes are quite large. I added a fourth photo that may give a better view of the dovetails on the drawers. I know that it sat in a small bedroom in a family member's home for a long, long time, but where do suppose it was originally used? Another part of the mystery is that each drawer is numbered in pencil on the bottom, numbers 1-7 and then 10. The piece as it stands only holds eight drawers (including the hidden drawer at the top middle) so I am guessing that the top part had an additional two drawers.
The top peg holes look half or five eights in diameter. That would say there was a quite large piece mounted above this. Perhaps not heavy but possibly tall and needed support to prevent it from tipping over. I have seen two different but similar types of desk with lower raised panels on the back side. The most common being a postal clerks desk. The top hutch would have had individual mail boxes. The outer face would have had a lock and the side where the clerk sat would have been open to sort and deliver mail. Others I have seen with lower raised panels came from banks. Difficult to say for sure and relying on an old mind doesn't help.
Thank you for the loves vetraio50, fhrjr2, ho2cultcha, blunderbuss2, aghcollect, and walksoftly.
Thank you, fhrjr2, for your careful observations. I can see what you are saying about the panels on the bottom, and had completely missed that important detail!
Always look at the individual parts of the whole. They usually all have a story to tell. You have an unusual piece here based on the parts. Forget the lower back raised panels, when do you ever see dust panels in furniture anymore? Then consider the raised panels in the lower half, then open the drawer and start looking at the construction. I would enjoy seeing this piece in person. It isn't common. I like odd ball things.