See also:

• DESK (from Lat. discus, quoit, in med. sense of " table," cf. " dish " and Ger. Tisch, table, from same source)

DESK (from See also:

• LAT

Lat. See also:

• DISCUS (Gr. &oEor, disk)

discus, quoit, in med. sense of " table," cf. " dish " and Ger. Tisch, table, from same source)  , any See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of See also:

• FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat or sloping table for See also:

• WRITING
• WRITING (the verbal noun of " to write," O. Eng. writan, to inscribe)

writing or See also:

• READING

reading . Its earliest shape was probably that with which we are See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar in pictures of the monastic scriptorium—rather high and narrow with a sloping slab . The See also:

• PRIMITIVE

primitive See also:

• DESK (from Lat. discus, quoit, in med. sense of " table," cf. " dish " and Ger. Tisch, table, from same source)

desk had little See also:

• ACCOMMODATION (Lat. accommodare, to make fit, from ad, to, cum, with, and modus, measure)

accommodation for writing materials, and no storage See also:

• ROOM

room for papers; drawers, cupboards and See also:

• PIGEON

pigeon-holes were the See also:

• EVOLUTION

evolution of periods when writing See also:

• GREW, NEHEMIAH (1641-1712)

grew See also:

• COMMON

common, and when letters and other documents requiring preservation became numerous . It was See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long the See also:

• CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom to secure papers in chests or cabinets, whereas the See also:

• MODERN

modern desk serves the See also:

• DOUBLE
• DOUBLE (from the Mid. Eng. duble, the form which gives the present pronunciation, through the Old Er. duble, from Lat. duplus, twice as much)

double purpose of a writing-table and a storehouse for documents . The first development from the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early See also:

• STALL (0. Eng. steall, stael, cf. Du. stal, Ger. and Swed. Stall, a common Teutonic word for a place, station, place for standing in; the root is the Indo-European std–, to stand, seen also in Latin stabulum, Greek vraO bs, and in stallion, an entire hors

stall-like desk consisted of the addition of a drawer; then the table came to be supported upon legs or columns, which, as in the many beautiful examples constructed by See also:

• BOULLE, ANDRE CHARLES (1642–1732)

Boulle and his school, were often of elaborate See also:

• GRACE (Fr. grace, Lat. gratia, from grates, beloved, pleasing; formed from the root cra-, Gr. xav-, cf. xaipw, x6p,ua, Xapts)
• GRACE, WILLIAM GILBERT (1848– )

grace . Eventually the legs were replaced by a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of superimposed drawers forming pedestals —hence the familiar See also:

• PEDESTAL (Fr. piedestal, Ital. piedestallo, foot of a stall)

pedestal writing-table . For a long See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period there were two distinct contemporary forms of desk—the table and the See also:

• BUREAU (a Fr. word from burel or bureau, a coarse cloth used for coverings)

bureau or escritoire . The latter shape attained a popularity so See also:

• GREAT

great that, especially in See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England and See also:

• AMERICA

America, it was found even in houses in which there was little occasion for writing . The See also:

• ENGLISH

English-speaking See also:

• PEOPLE

people of the 18th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century were amazingly fond of pieces of See also:

• FURNITURE (from " furnish," Fr. fournir)

furniture which served a double or triple purpose . The bureau—the word is the See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French generic appellation for a desk—derives its name from the material with which it was originally covered (Fr. See also:

• BORE

bore, woollen See also:

• CLOTH

cloth) . It consists of an upright See also:

• CARCASS

carcass sloping inward at the See also:

• TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top, and provided with long drawers below . The upper See also:

• PART

part is fitted with small drawers and pigeon-holes, and often with See also:

• SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

secret places, and the writing space is formed by a hinged slab supported on runners; when not in use this slab closes up the sloping top .

During the 18th century innumerable thousands of these bureaux were made on both sides of the See also:

• ATLANTIC

Atlantic—indeed, if we except tables and chairs, no piece of old furniture is more common . In the first part of that period they were usually of See also:

• OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak, but when See also:

• MAHOGANY

mahogany was introduced into See also:

• EUROPE

Europe it speedily ousted the heavier-looking See also:

• WOOD, ANTHONY A2 (1632-1695)
• WOOD, JOHN GEORGE (1827—1889)
• WOOD, MRS HENRY [ELLEN] (1814—1887)
• WOOD, SEARLES VALENTINE (1798—188o)

wood . Its deep See also:

• RICH, BARNABE (c. 1540-1617)
• RICH, CLAUDIUS JAMES (1787-1821)
• RICH, JOHN (1692-1761)
• RICH, PENELOPE, LADY (c. 1562–1607)
• RICH, RICHARD, 1ST BARON RICH (1490?-1567)

rich See also:

• COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour and the high See also:

• POLISH

polish of which it was capable added appreciably to its ornamental See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance . While the pigeon-holes and small drawers were used for papers, the long drawers were often employed for purposes other than See also:

• LITERARY

literary . In See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time the bureausecretaire became a bureau-See also:

• BOOKCASE

bookcase, the glazed shelves, which were often a See also:

• SEPARATE

separate erection, resting upon the top of the bureau . The cabinetmakers of the second See also:

• HALF

half of the 18th century, the period of the greatest foraison of this See also:

• COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination, competed with each other in devising elegant frets for the See also:

• GLASS
• GLASS (O.E. glees, cf. Ger. Glas, perhaps derived from an old Teutonic root gla-, a variant of glo-, having the general sense of shining, cf. " glare," " glow ")
• GLASS, STAINED

glass fronts . Solid and satisfying to the See also:

• EYE
• EYE (O. Eng. edge, Ger. Auge; derived from an Indo-European root also seen in Lat. oc-ulus, the organ of vision (q.v.)

eye, if somewhat severe in See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form, the mahogany bureau was usually an exceedingly presentable piece of furniture . Occasionally it had a bombe front which mitigated its severity; this was especially the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case in the Dutch varieties, which were in a measure See also:

• FREE

free adaptations of the French See also:

• LOUIS
• LOUIS (804–876)
• LOUIS (893–911)
• LOUIS, JOSEPH DOMINIQUE, BARON (1755-1837)
• LOUIS, or LEWIS (from the Frankish Chlodowich, Chlodwig, Latinized as Chlodowius, Lodhuwicus, Lodhuvicus, whence-in the Strassburg oath of 842-0. Fr. Lodhuwigs, then Chlovis, Loys and later Louis, whence Span. Luiz and—through the Angevin kings—Hungarian

Louis Quinze commode . These Dutch bureaux, and the English ones made in See also:

• IMITATION (Lat. imitatio, from intitari, to imitate)

imitation of them, were usually elaborately inlaid with floral designs in coloured See also:

• WOODS, LEONARD (1774-1854)
• WOODS, SIR ALBERT (1816-1904)

woods; but whereas the Batavian See also:

• MARQUETRY (Fr. marqueterie, from marqueter, to inlay, literally to mark, marquee)

marquetry was often rough and crude, the English See also:

• WORK

work was usually of considerable excellence . See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

Side by side with this form of writing apparatus was one variety or another of the writing-table proper . In so far as it is possible to generalize upon such a detail it would appear that the bureau was the desk of the See also:

• YEOMAN

yeoman and what we now See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call the See also:

• LOWER

lower See also:

• MIDDLE

middle class, and that the slighter and more table-like forms were preferred by those higher in the social See also:

• SCALE
• SCALE (1) A

scale . This probably means no more than that while the one class preserved the old English See also:

• AFFECTION (Lat. ad, and facere, to do something to, sc. a person)

affection for the solid and heavy furniture which would last for generations, those who were more free to follow the fashions and fancies of their time were, as the pecuniarily easy classes always have been, ready to abandon the old for the new .

Just about the time when the flat table with its drawers in a single See also:

• ROW, JOHN (c. 1525—1580)

row, or in nests serving as pedestals, was finally assuming its familiar modern shape, an invention was introduced which was destined eventually, so far as See also:

• NUMBERS, BOOK OF
• NUMBERS, PARTITION OF

numbers and convenience go, to supersede all other forms of desk . This was the See also:

• CYLINDER (Gr. KvAwSpos, from KvXivaety, to roll)

cylinder-top writing-table . Nothing is known of the originator of this See also:

• DEVICE

device, but it is certain that if not French himself he worked in See also:

• FRANCE
• FRANCE, ANATOLE (1844– )

France . The historians of French furniture agree in fixing its introduction about the See also:

• YEAR

year 1750, and we know that a desk worked on this principle was in the See also:

• POSSESSION
• POSSESSION (Lat. possessio, possidere, to possess)

possession of the French See also:

• CROWN

crown in the year 176o . Even in its early days the cylinder took more than one form . It sometimes consisted of a solid piece of curved wood, and sometimes of a See also:

• TAMBOUR (Fr. for " drum " )

tambour See also:

• FRAME

frame—that is to say, of a series ofnarrow jointed strips of wood mounted on See also:

• CANVAS

canvas; the revolving shutters of a See also:

• SHOP

shop-front are an See also:

• ADAPTATION (from Lat. adaptare. to fit to)

adaptation of the See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea . For a long period, however, the cylinder was most often solid, and remained so until the latter part of the loth century, when the " See also:

• AMERICAN

American See also:

• ROLL (O. Fr. rolle, roulle, mod. role, Lat. rotulus, dim. of rota, wheel)
• ROLL, ALFRED PHILIPPE (1846– )

roll-top desk " began to be made in large numbers . This is indeed the old French form with a tambour cylinder, and it is now the desk that is most frequently met with all over the See also:

• WORLD

world for commercial purposes . Its popularity is due to its large accommodation, and to the facility with which the closing of the cylinder conceals all papers, and automatically locks every drawer . To France we owe not only the invention of this ubiquitous form, but the construction of many of the finest and most historic desks that have survived—the characteristic marquetry writing-tables of the Boulle period, and the gilded splendours of that of Louis Quinze have never been surpassed in the See also:

• HISTORY

history of furniture . Indeed, the " Bureau du roi " which was made for Louis XV. is the most famous and magnificent piece of furniture that, so far as we know, was ever constructed . This desk, which is now one of the treasures of the Louvre, was the work of several artist-artificers, See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief among whom were See also:

• OEBEN, JEAN FRANCOIS

Oeben and See also:

• RIESENER, JEAN HENRI (1734-1806)

Riesener—Oeben, it may be added here as a See also:

• MATTER

matter of See also:

• ARTISTIC

artistic See also:

• INTEREST

interest, became the See also:

• GRAND

grand-See also:

• FATHER

father of See also:

• EUGENE

Eugene See also:

• DELACROIX, FERDINAND VICTOR EUGENE (1798-1863)

Delacroix .

The bureau is signed " Riesener fa . 1769 a l'See also:

• ARSENAL

Arsenal de See also:

• PARIS
• PARIS (also called ALEXANDROS)
• PARIS, ALEXIS PAULIN (1800-x881)
• PARIS, BRUNO PAULIN GASTON (1839-1903)
• PARIS, FRANCOIS DE (169o-1727)
• PARIS, LOUIS PHILIPPE ALBERT
• PARIS, TREATIES OF (1814-1815)

Paris," but it has been established that, however great may have been the See also:

• SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share of its construction which See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell to him, the conception was that of Oeben . The work was ordered in 176o; it would thus appear that nine years were consumed in perfecting it, which is not surprising when we learn from the detailed See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of its construction that the work began with making a perfect See also:

• MINIATURE

miniature See also:

• MODEL (0. Fr. modelle, mod. modele; It. modello, pattern, mould; from Lat. modus, measure, standard)

model followed by one of full See also:

• SIZE

size . The " bureau du roi " is a large cylinder desk elaborately inlaid in marquetry of woods, and decorated with a wonderful and ornate series of mounts .consisting of See also:

• MOULDINGS

mouldings, plaques, vases and statuettes of gilt See also:

• BRONZE

bronze See also:

• CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast and chased . These bronzes are the work of Duplessis, Winant and Hervieux . The desk, which shows plainly the transition between the Louis Quinze and Louis Seize styles, is as remarkable fqr the boldness of its conception as for the magnificent finish of its details . Its lines are large, flowing and harmonious, and although it is no longer exactly as it See also:

• LEFT

left the hands of its makers (Oeben died before it was finished) the alterations that have been made have hardly interfered with the See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general effect . For the See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head of the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king for whom it was made that of See also:

• MINERVA

Minerva in a See also:

• HELMET (from an obsolete diminutive of O. Fr. helme, mod. heaume; the English word is " helm," as in O. Eng., Dutch and Ger.; all are from the Teutonic base hal-, pre-Teut. kal-, to cover; cf. Lat. celare, to hide, Eng. " hell," &c.)

helmet was substituted under his successor . The ciphers of Louis XV. have been removed and replaced by Sevres plaques, and even the See also:

• KEY
• KEY (in O. Eng. tang; the ultimate origin of the word is unknown; it appears only in Old Frisian kei of other Teutonic languages; until the end of the 17th century the pronunciation was kay, as in other words in O. Eng. ending in aeg; cf. daeg, day; clang
• KEY (the phraseograms being indicated by hyphens)
• KEY, SIR ASTLEY COOPER (1821-1888)
• KEY, THOMAS HEWITT (1799-1875)

key which bore the king's initial crowned with laurels and See also:

• PALM (Lat. palma, Gr. iraX6.jn )
• PALM, JOHANN PHILIPP (1768-1806)

palm leaves, with his portrait on the one side, and the fleur de lys on the other, has been interfered with by an austere republicanism . Yet no tampering with details can spoil the monumental See also:

• NOBILITY

nobility of this great conception . (J .