SOLD Antique Victorian Butler Secretary Desk

We are pleased to be offering today this gorgeous Victorian oversize 107” tall butler’s walnut secretary desk that came in recently.  We are always intrigued with these and they are always found in  the old dark Civil War era finish which is  kind of grungy and doesn’t show the walnut right.  So, we brought it into the restoration shop to hand strip (which takes a long time, but is well worth it to leave the patina or original color in the wood), hand sand meticulously throughout, stain the same factory color and applied multiple coats of hand rubbed lacquer until it builds up a beautiful semi glow lustrous finish such as this.  It has the original glass, original triple adjustable shelves, we had to replace some of the center slats and the crest is original. Everything on this desk is original except for the exterior finish and the felt that we replaced.  The cabinet dates from the 1860s era. We are fortunate enough to get one or two of these every year, but we scour the entire United States to obtain the rare and hard to find items such as this.   This desk has gothic block pyramid columns down on the base with spoon carving on the incise carved and picture frame panel doors that open for a large space that probably had a shelf previous.  If the buyer would like us to put a shelf behind the doors, we will do so if you tell us at the time of purchase.  The cabinet also features panel sides all the way up, which a cheap one would not as it would be plank sides, but this one is walnut all the way.  There is Cornish molding all the way around the shapely two doors that open to reveal a triple shelf adjustable height interior, carved columns with diamond points for motifs and big leaves are carving in with dainty little cornices.  The top of the cabinet has  a double wide crown molding and a large center finial broken arch top.  It doesn’t get much better than this.  The reason they call these butler’s desk is that back in the day every one that was somebody had a butler and the butler had to have a place to keep his recipes and his work.  This piece would normally be found either in the hallway of a grand entrance way or a dining room.  The butler would sit down once or twice a week to make out his grocery or vittles list and also kept track of receipts for things he was responsible for.  The butler had a desk anytime he wanted by pulling out the simulated drawer, flipping it down with the fancy brass hardware and exposing the cubby hole drawer interior with the felt lined top.  Then he would proceed with the quill pen and ink to write his shopping list while the entire china 2 glass door cupboard top above was where the gorgeous silver and porcelain china that the house would have in their possession would be stored.  A butler’s desk was not just in any house, it had to be a special house that had a lot of charm and character, but also an affluent family.  The desk is stunning and keep in mind that it is 107” tall!!  We could make it fit an 8’ ceiling, but we would have to lose the crest and some of the crown molding. Please contact us to get a price to have this cut down.  This desk deserves a tall ceiling to show off the magnitude and magnificence of the designs.  We are very pleased to have this to offer to you today.  The overall size is 48 inches wide at the base, 19 inches deep at the base, 39 inches high to the base, 13 inches deep on the top, 44 inches wide on top, 52 inches tall to the doors and approximately 107 inches tall  overall.  

On this item, we will offer delivery $425 if you are within our normal shipping area.  Please call us at (207) 314-9621 or email John@MaineAntiqueFurniture.com to see if you qualify for delivery in our regular shipping zone. Enjoy, and please keep looking for great items here on our site!