Are roll top desks popular?
Because it was produced in vast numbers and at varying levels of quality, the rolltop desk is popular in the antique market. It is usually expensive especially if the wood used is expensive. It is also popular amongst set decorators who want to recreate the ambience of an office of the late 19th or early 20th century.
What’s the appeal of a roll top desk?
One of the appeals of a roll-top desk is security. Your desk may show the proud work of a local locksmith or a style of lock plate or key popular during a particular period. Look closely at how drawers on your desk are assembled.
How old is an antique roll top desk?
Determining the exact age of any piece of antique furniture can be challenging. Depending on information provided by the piece itself, you may be able to come within a few years of dating it or may have to settle for a span of 50 years or longer. A wide variety of resources can help you come close to dating an antique roll-top desk.
What kind of lock is on a roll top desk?
It is a Macey desk and Macy lock. From what we remember the key is flat and has a straight back and teeth on the other side. You can slide a knife under the lock between the rolltop lid and the desk top so it must latch on the sides both left and right.
What kind of wood is a roll top desk made out of?
Identify what kind of wood your desk is made from. Early roll-tops were built of heavy woods such as black walnut, and small local companies might choose from a variety of local hardwoods.
Determining the exact age of any piece of antique furniture can be challenging. Depending on information provided by the piece itself, you may be able to come within a few years of dating it or may have to settle for a span of 50 years or longer. A wide variety of resources can help you come close to dating an antique roll-top desk.
One of the appeals of a roll-top desk is security. Your desk may show the proud work of a local locksmith or a style of lock plate or key popular during a particular period. Look closely at how drawers on your desk are assembled.
Identify what kind of wood your desk is made from. Early roll-tops were built of heavy woods such as black walnut, and small local companies might choose from a variety of local hardwoods.
How can I tell if my desk is factory made?
Especially if your desk, like many sold in the “Sears, Roebuck & Co.” or “Montgomery Ward” catalogs from the 1880s to the end of the 1920s, was factory-built, you may recognize it by its measurements as much as by its design. Perfectly symmetrical measurements are a clue that your desk was factory- rather than hand-made.
