Antique Federal Period Solid Bird's Eye Maple Clerk's Desk With Single Drawer

Description

With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this exceptional and rare antique clerk's … more With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this exceptional and rare antique clerk's desk. We feel incredibly fortunate to have come to find this marvelous desk as it is truly the best clerk's desk which we have ever owned. For any collector that seeks out either rare early American Federal period furniture or pieces constructed of only the choicest selections of wood this offering is an opportunity that may possibly never come again. Antiques of most varieties are indeed rare and hard to routinely find however there are varying degrees of scarcity when it comes to different fields of collecting. We feel it necessary to plainly state that we have never encountered a desk of this caliber before, and we do not expect to find another comparable example ever again. This desk is simply one of those pieces that most antique dealers dream of finding but seldom ever do. We sincerely hope that the next owner of this remarkable clerk's desk will cherish it as much as we do.

This antique clerk's desk, also referred to as a paymaster's desk, was generally used for accounting purposes in a setting where funds may have been issued and received. The desk is designed with a slant lid front so that notations may have been recorded in a ledger while a clerk stood at the front. Many clerk's desks do not feature a prominent drawer beneath the writing surface, so we feel it necessary to highlight what a rare feature it is to have. The writing surface opens to reveal a long narrow drawer and a storage cavity designed to keep paper documents and records. There is an interesting brass escutcheon and an inset lock fitted to the desk so that the contents inside could be secured. At one point there were different drawer pulls on the desk which were changed for singular brass pulls. The entire case is constructed of the boldest selection of bird's eye maple stock that can possibly be cultivated for furniture building. The desk features dovetailed case construction as well as handcut dovetails used to form the drawer box. The back of the desk and underside of the drawer panel have wonderful oxidation which has naturally developed over centuries. There are four finely turned legs in the Sheraton manner designed to support the desk which end on compact ball feet. This antique clerk's desk measures 26" wide x 22" deep x 35 1/2" tall. less