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French Louis XV Style Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Cypress, CA
A beautiful French Louis XV style bureau plat desk.
Mid-20th century.
The tooled red leather
Category
20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Louis XVI Style Mahogany Bureau Plat Desk
Located in San Francisco, CA
Mahogany writing desk with inset green leather top having gilt embossing and brass trim. Two short
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
French 19th Century Antique Satinwood Bureau / Desk
Located in London, GB
An exquisite 19th-century antique French Louis XV-style roll-top bureau, a stunning example of fine
Category
Antique 19th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Satinwood
19th Century French Renaissance Desk, Bureau Plat
Located in Dallas, TX
19th century French Renaissance desk, Bureau Plat is an exceptional choice for the 21st century
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Renaissance Revival Desks and Writing T...
Materials
Brass
Original Walnut Queen Anne Secretary Desk /Bureau
Located in Pomona, CA
An original Queen Anne period writing desk, circa 1720. Fantastic patina on it's original walnut
Category
Antique Early 18th Century English Queen Anne Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
Antique French Leather Top Bureau Plat Desk
Located in London, GB
A stunning antique French leather top bureau plat desk, made in France and dating from around the
Category
Vintage 1930s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Leather, Walnut
Antique French Leather Top Bureau Plat Desk
Located in London, GB
A stunning antique French leather top bureau plat desk, made in France and dating from around the
Category
Vintage 1930s French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
Antique French Ormolu Mounted Bureau Plat Desk
Located in London, GB
A very large, impressive and incredibly beautiful antique French style bureau plat desk, dating
Category
Early 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
Antique French Inlaid Marquetry Bureau Plat Desk
Located in London, GB
A stunning antique French Louis XV style bureau plat desk, which I would date from around the 1930
Category
Early 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
French Kidney Desk Bureau Plat Antique Mahogany
Located in Potters Bar, GB
French style mahogany kidney shaped writing table.
This wonderful writing table stands upon turned
Category
Antique Early 1900s Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany
Louis XVI Style French Mahogany Bureau Plat or Writing Table
Located in Atlanta, GA
French Louis XVI style mahogany bureau plat or writing table with black embossed leather top
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
19th Century French Kingwood Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Stunning late 19th century french bureau plate circa 1890.
Free standing serpentine of shape
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Kingwood
19th Century Louis Phillipe Bureau Plat Desk
Located in New Orleans, LA
Lovely walnut wooden desk with tapered chamfered legs, leather insert top with gilding along the
Category
Antique 19th Century Desks and Writing Tables
Louis XVI Style Lacquered Desk Table Bureau
Located in Madrid, ES
Louis XVI style lacquered desk table, parcel-gilt with three drawers and embossed green and gold
Category
Mid-20th Century Spanish Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
Louis XVI Style Lacquered Desk Table Bureau
Located in Madrid, ES
Louis XVI style lacquered desk table, parcel gilt with three drawers and embossed green and gold
Category
Mid-20th Century Spanish Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
Vintage Floral Marquetry Walnut Bureau Plat Desk
Located in London, GB
This is a very impressive Louis XV Revival walnut and floral marquetry bureau plat, dating from the
Category
Vintage 1970s French Desks and Writing Tables
Antique Burr Walnut Marquetry Bureau Plat Writing Table, 19th Century
Located in London, GB
-mounted bureau plat circa 1860 in date.
This fantastic bureau plat features a shaped top with an inset
Category
Antique 1860s Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
French Desk Bureau Plat with Bronze Ormolu Mounts
Located in West Hartford, CT
Stunning French Louis XV style three drawer desk/bureau plat with dore bronze mounts and leather
Category
Mid-20th Century Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Large Empire Gilt Bronze-Mounted Bureau Plat or Writing Table
By Charles Percier
Located in Berlin, DE
A large Empire gilt bronze-mounted writing table or bureau plat veneered in mahogany on a carcase
Category
Antique 1820s French Empire Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Lovely 1950s Serpentine Fronted Mahogany Chippendale Writing Bureau Claw
Ball
By Thomas Chippendale
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
fronted writing bureau with leather writing surface
The patina on this wood is to die for, just look
Category
Mid-20th Century British Early Victorian Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany
Antique French Leather Top Bureau Plat Desk
Located in London, GB
A stunning antique French leather top desk. This was made in France, it dates from around the 1950
Category
Vintage 1930s French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Bureau Plat Desk Napoleon III, France, circa 1870
Located in Lichtenberg, AT
Ornate worked Bureau plat desk from the Napoleon III period out of France, circa 1870. The graceful
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Spruce, Palisander, Rosewood
French Kingwood Louis XV-Style Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A very fine and well-proportioned French ‘Bureau Plat’ or writing desk, the case veneered in book
Category
Early 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
French Louis XVI Style Bureau Plat or Desk
Located in Birmingham, AL
Handsome Louis XVI style bureau plat (writing table) from the Lyon region of France. Handcrafted of
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
19th Century Kingwood and Ormolu Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Late 19th century French kingwood bureau plat, circa 1890.
Shaped leather top writing surface
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Kingwood
French Louis XV Leather Top Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Elegant French Louis XV style bureau plat or writing table featuring a black tooled leather top
Category
20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass, Bronze
Antique Louis XV Kingwood Writing Table Bureau Plat, circa 1880
Located in London, GB
2in
This is a gorgeous antique French ormolu mounted kingwood bureau plat or writing table circa
Category
Antique 1880s French Desks and Writing Tables
Antique French Ormolu-Mounted Bureau Plat or Desk
Located in London, GB
This is an antique French kingwood desk which is commonly known in the trade as a Bureau plat. It's
Category
Vintage 1920s French Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
Donald Ross Style Walnut Roll Top Bureau Desk
By Donald Ross
Located in London, GB
its exterior. Inside the desk there is a central, leather writing surface and six smaller drawers. To
Category
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu, Bronze
19th Century Walnut
Mahogany Drop Front Bureau Desk
Located in San Francisco, CA
19th century walnut & mahogany drop front bureau desk
Gorgeous antique drop front bureau with
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century British Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany, Walnut
French Antique Louis XVI Style Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Austin, TX
Bureau plat desk made of solid mahogany and featuring a lustrous French polish finish. This very
Category
Antique Early 1900s French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Ormolu Mounted Mahogany Bureau Plat / Desk
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
STUNNING 19TH CENTURY ORMOLU MOUNTED MAHOGANY BUREAU PLAT / DESK, Rectangular leather panelled top
Category
Antique 19th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
19th Century Dutch Marquetry Bureau Abattant Secretaire Desk
Located in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
19th century Dutch Marquetry bureau abattant secretaire desk.
This is a rare breathtaking
Category
Antique 19th Century Dutch Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
19th Century French Louis XV Walnut Bureau Plat or Writing Table
Located in Birmingham, AL
Mid-19th century Louis XV style bureau plat or writing table handcrafted of French walnut by
Category
Antique 1860s Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
19th Century French Louis XV Desk Bureau Plat
Located in Dallas, TX
XV desk or bureau plat en francaise. Features its original tooled leather top and exquisite cast
Category
Antique 1880s French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Antique Arts
Crafts Walnut Tambour Top Desk / Bureau
Located in London, GB
A superb original Victorian Arts & Crafts period tambour top bureau in solid walnut. This was made
Category
Antique Late 19th Century English Arts and Crafts Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
19th Century 2nd Empire French Desk ~ Bureau Plat
Located in Dallas, TX
Magnificently crafted from exotic imported mahogany, this Empire style desk was created during the
Category
Antique 19th Century French Empire Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Antique French Style Lacquered Chinoiserie Bureau Plat Desk
By Drexel
Located in London, GB
A stunning antique French style lacquered chinoiserie bureau plat desk. This was made in the USA by
Category
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood, Lacquer
Louis XVI Style Ritz-Carlton Writing Desk
Located in Astoria, NY
Louis XVI style writing desk or bureau plat, made expressly for the Ritz Carlton hotel and with
Category
Late 20th Century Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
French Louis XV Style Desk or Bureau Platt
Located in Houston, TX
Large impressive desk with inset leather top surrounded
By gilt trim and brass edge over three
Category
Mid-20th Century Romanian Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Antique Victorian Mahogany Cylinder Bureau Desk, 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a gorgeous antique late Victorian inlaid mahogany cylinder bureau, by the renowned retailer
Category
Antique 1890s English Victorian Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Leather, Mahogany
Carved Japanese Desk and Chair Set Bureau 1880
Located in Potters Bar, GB
Highly sought after antique Japanese desk with matching chair
Hand carved from hardwood with some
Category
Antique 1880s Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Carved Japanese Desk and Chair Set Bureau 1880
Located in Potters Bar, GB
Highly sought after antique Japanese desk with matching chair
Hand carved from hardwood with some
Category
Antique 1880s Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Hardwood
Louis Cane, Bronze and Walnut Desk, Bureau Plat
By Louis Cane
Located in North Miami, FL
Louis Cane, patinated bronze and oak bureau plat, c. 2001, France. The walnut parquet top over
Category
Early 2000s French Expressionist Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Bureau
Located in London, GB
writing desk. A combination of sleekness, functionality and beautiful craftsmanship, this bureau is a
Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
$2,190
19th Century French Oak Barley Twist Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Handsome 19th century French bureau plat writing table or desk featuring barley twist legs and
Category
Antique 19th Century French Louis XIII Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Oak
Louis XV Style White-Painted Bureau Plat or Lady
s Writing Table
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Walnut; un-stamped or signed; brown leather writing surface mounted in a scalloped and gilded
Category
20th Century Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut, Leather
French Directoire Style Flame Mahogany Writing Desk
Located in Forney, TX
A stunning French Directoire style mahogany bureau plat writing desk with nicely aged patina
Category
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass, Bronze
Late 19th Century Chinese Mahogany 3-Drawer Bureau Desk
Located in Marbella, ES
Late 19th century Chinese mahogany 3-drawer bureau desk.
Category
Antique 19th Century Chinese Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany
Extraordinary Antique French Mahogany Louis XVI Bureau Plat/Desk
Located in BENSENVILLE, IL
Breathtaking antique French Louis XVI mahogany desk or bureau plat with original polished brasses
Category
Antique 19th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany
Very Elegant Roll-Top Secretaire or Bureau Desk, 1790s
Located in Greding, DE
Very elegant roll-top secretaire or bureau desk, cherrywood.
Classicism style.
West Germany
Category
Antique 1790s German Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Cherry
Ebonized Wood and Gilt Ormolu Bureau Desk, circa 1910
Located in Culver City, CA
Ebonized wood and gilt ormolu bureau desk, circa 1910.
Elegant form with gilt ormolu mounts and
Category
Vintage 1910s French Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
French Specimen Marble Topped Bureau Platt Desk, 19th Century
Located in Cypress, CA
Rare and exquisite late 19th century French Louis XV style ormolu-mounted walnut bureau platt desk
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Marble, Ormolu
18th Century English Mahogany Slant Front Desk or Bureau
Located in Astoria, NY
An 18th century English diminutive mahogany slant front desk or bureau with dove tail joints and
Category
Antique 18th Century and Earlier English Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Desk Bureau Plat
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A French mahogany Napoleon III desk or ‘bureau plat’ with brass details and trim to the panels and
Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Mahogany
Napoleon III Louis XV Style Marquetry Desk Bureau Plat
Located in London, by appointment only
An elegant 19th century marquetry and ormolu bureau plat desk, the shaped top with central
Category
Antique 19th Century French Napoleon III Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Palatial Victorian Gilt-Bronze Mounted Bureau Plat Partner’s Desk
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
A Palatial Victorian Gilt-Bronze Mounted Bureau Plat.
This palatial bureau plat is of grand
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century British Victorian Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
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Writing Desk Bureau For Sale on 1stDibs
With a vast inventory of beautiful furniture at 1stDibs, we’ve got just the writing desk bureau you’re looking for. Each writing desk bureau for sale was constructed with extraordinary care, often using wood, metal and animal skin. If you’re shopping for a writing desk bureau, we have 899 options in-stock, while there are 12 modern editions to choose from as well. There are many kinds of the writing desk bureau you’re looking for, from those produced as long ago as the 18th Century to those made as recently as the 21st Century. A writing desk bureau is a generally popular piece of furniture, but those created in Louis XV, Louis XVI and Georgian styles are sought with frequency. François Linke, Maison Jansen and Scarlet Splendour each produced at least one beautiful writing desk bureau that is worth considering.
How Much is a Writing Desk Bureau?
The average selling price for a writing desk bureau at 1stDibs is $6,670, while they’re typically $171 on the low end and $1,844,713 for the highest priced.
Finding the Right Desks-writing-tables for You
Choosing the perfect writing desk or writing table is a profoundly personal journey, one that people have been embarking upon for centuries.
Queen Atossa of Persia, from her writing table circa 500 B.C., is said to have been the originator of the art of handwritten letters. Hers was reportedly the first in a long and colorful history of penned correspondence that grew in popularity alongside literacy. The demand for suitable writing desks, which would serve the composer of the letters as well as ensure the comfort of the recipient naturally followed, and the design of these necessary furnishings has evolved throughout history.
Once people began to seek freedom from the outwardly ornate styles of the walnut and rosewood writing desks and drafting tables introduced in the name of Queen Victoria and King Louis XV, radical shifts occurred, such as those that materialized during the Art Nouveau period, when designers longed to produce furniture inspired by the natural world’s beauty. A prime example is the work of the famous late-19th-century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí — his rolltop desk featured deep side drawers and was adorned with carved motifs that paid tribute to nature. Gaudí regularly combined structural precision with decorative elements, creating beautiful pieces of furniture in wood and metal.
Soon afterward, preferences for sleek, geometric, stylized forms in furniture that saw an emphasis on natural wood grains and traditional craftsmanship took hold. Today, Art Deco desks are still favored by designers who seek to infuse interiors with an air of luxury. One of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco movement was French decorator and furniture designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. With his use of neoclassical motifs as well as expensive and exotic materials such as imported dark woods and inlays of precious metals for his writing desks, Ruhlmann came to symbolize good taste and modernity.
The rise in appreciation for Scandinavian modernism continues to influence the design of contemporary writing desks. It employs the “no fuss” or “less is more” approach to creating a tasteful, sophisticated space. Sweden’s master cabinetmaker Bruno Mathsson created gallery-worthy designs that are as functional as they are beautiful. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto never viewed himself as an artist, but, like Mathsson, his furniture designs reflected a fondness for organic materials and a humanistic approach. Danish designers such as Hans Wegner introduced elegant shapes and lines to mid-century desks and writing tables, often working in oak and solid teak.
From vintage desks to contemporary styles, 1stDibs offers a broad spectrum of choices for conducting all personal and business writing and reading activities.
Questions About Writing Desk Bureau
- What is a writing desk?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertSeptember 25, 2019
A writing desk may refer to a desk with a top, often sloping, for writing on or to a portable case with compartments to hold writing materials and a surface for writing.
- 1stDibs ExpertOctober 12, 2021A small writing table is also called a davenport table or davenport desk. They normally feature a sloped or inclined top attached with hinges to the back of the table. On 1stDibs, find a variety of antique and vintage davenport desks.
- 1stDibs ExpertOctober 19, 2021A writing desk with drawers is also called a secretary. It is a desk with drawers, one of which can be pushed out and the front of the desk lowered to create a flat writing surface. These writing desks have been made in a variety of styles over the years. Shop for a variety of writing tables with drawers on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertJune 15, 2023What an old-fashioned writing desk is called varies by design. Pieces with drop-down fronts are secretary desks (these are typically made of two parts: a chest of drawers on the bottom and a hutch or cupboard with shelves on the top), while ones that rest on two pillars, cabinets or bookcases are pedestal desks. A desk with a small writing surface positioned in front of drawers and cubbies is a bureau à gradin. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of desks.
- 1stDibs ExpertMarch 3, 2023In French, the term for a writing desk that often featured a drop-down writing surface is secretaire. This type of desk is called a secretary desk in English. Simply put, a secretary desk is a multifunctional piece of furniture with a hinged writing surface that folds open or drops down. When the leaf is folded out, small inner storage compartments, which are called pigeonholes, cubbies, recesses or drawers, are revealed. On 1stDibs, shop antique secretary desks from some of the world's top sellers.
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