The Wooton's Patent Desk ~ The King of Desks!

Those of you who have been following along for awhile know about my fondness for anything with multiple drawers, nooks & crannies ~ here and here. When a woodworker friend of mine posted a photo of the Wooton Patent Desk on his FB page, I was totally smitten ~ I have never seen anything like this anywhere! I wonder if you came upon a piece of furniture like that shown below if you would even think to open it up?



Imagine finding this inside ~ I think I just might have a heart attack ~ especially if it was at a price I could afford! Guess I will keep an eye open from now on!

{images from here}

I did a bit of searching and located a few other examples that are shown below. I also found out a bit of history about the Wooton Patent Desk. This sort of desk was produced by William Wooton from 1870 through 1884 ~ it was called a "secretary desk" and its function was to organize any sort of office paperwork. These desks were expensive at the time (and now!) and only the wealthy could afford such a piece of furniture. The craftsmanship and details on these pieces is just amazing ~ I especially love the different ways the little drawers were designed ~ ie. the addition of numbers or the drawer pulls.

{images above from here}

{images above from here}

I love that this piece of furniture was advertised as "The King of Desks" ~ I can't imagine that there was much competition! Another of the advertising slogans used for the Wooton's Patent Desk was that it was "A place for everything & everything in its place" ~ nice to know where that saying originated!

{image & more info here}

{image from here}

Great vintage photo above that shows a Wooton desk being used in an office ~ must have been a successful business to be able to afford such nice office furniture. Below is a book on the desks ~ might be fun to take a look at to learn more and see other examples.

{buy book here}

So, how do we go from the Wooton's Patent Desk to that shown below? Granted, the cabinet below would fit most budgets, but after seeing a Wooton, this just doesn't cut it ~ plastic or vinyl drawers ~ UGH! Paperboard boxes with metal pulls would improve this considerably ~ even if it increased the price. What do you think?!

{image from here}