A fine and rare George II burr and figured walnut desk and bookcase circa 1730

The arched molded top with canted corners above a pair of conforming doors fitted with original bevelled mirror plates centered by a fluted pilaster with Corinthian capital, both doors opening to a central prospect door flanked by folio slides and pigeonholes, surmounted by pigeonholes and raised above small drawers; the lower section fitted with a slant front opening to a central prospect door flanked by pilaster-fronted secret drawers and an arrangment of pigeonholes and small drawers, the case fitted with a pair of short drawers above three graduated long drawers raised on bracket feet.  The backboard of the lower section with a paper lable printed with Q 640 / Stott's Depository, Buxton / Du Buisson and with a chalked inscription to the back board inscribed: Front M... / Ch...

Apter Fredericks, London, 2002

Overall good condition; the upper section with minor age cracks to the veneers of drawer fronts around the mirrors; the mirrors appear to be original or contemporary with the piece with nice soft beveling and with some crystallization and minor pitting to the plates; the lower section with a very minor age crack to veneer of left side of slant front; handles and keyhole escutcheons to the lower section appear to be replaced with some very minor subtle patches to veneers where previous hardware was fixed; lock plates are Victorian and replaced; small loss to veneer of front left corner upright; small loss to quarter-round veneer to left side apron approximately 1 ¾ inches in length; overall with usual marks, scratches and bruise; the feet with scuffs and bruises consistent with age and use.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This exceptional desk-and-bookcase is notable not only for the use of the finely figured burr walnut veneers, but also for the beautifully fitted interiors with its complete arrangement found both in the upper part and within the fall, with small document drawers, pigeon holes and folio slides.

Its form illustrates the pinnacle of a design which had gradually evolved during the late 17th/early 18th century from the early form of a moveable desk in the form of a box with a rising sloping lid which was used as a book or paper rest. This form was described in 1584 as 'a little holowe desk lyk a coffer, whereupon men do write,' and was commonly fashioned in oak, which was occasionally painted, covered in leather or carved.  In the late 1670s this form is found on a fixed stand, the hinges on the slope being reversed to enable the inner 'slope' to be used as a writing surface, which was supported on extending lopers.  By the late 1690s this form of desk was fitted below with drawers, and by the early 1700s the first 'desks-and-bookcases' appeared.

The actual description 'desk-and-bookcase' appears to be first recorded in the accounts of the Royal cabinet-maker Gerrit Jensen (fl.1680-d.1715) who supplied several for the Royal Household from 1710 (Bowett, op. cit.), and another described as 'a walnut writing desk, the top for books and patons and glass in the doors asked' for the 5th Earl of Salisbury, Hatfield House.  Another maker of this form of desk was the London cabinet-maker John Gumley (1691-1727) who advertised in Richard Steele's Lover on April 24 1714 that he 'hath taken for a Ware-house, and furnished all the upper Part of the New Exchange in the Strand' continuing with an extensive list of his stock including 'Desks and Bookcases.' In 1714 he supplied one of these in walnut to James 1^st Duke of Montrose for the sum of £11.