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Secretaires For Sale
Scandinavian Style Secretary Desk in Walnut
Located in Paris, FR
Beautifull handmade Nordic style compact desk made of solid walnut wood offering a real storage solution with three drawers, one secret compartment and tw...
Category
2010s Portuguese Scandinavian Modern Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
$7,745 / item
"Swedish Grace" Period Secretary
Located in New York, NY
Grace was the inspiration for this lovely birch secretary which makes working from home a joy! Three locking drawers sit beneath a generous drop-front with 6 interior drawers, a pair...
Category
1920s Swedish Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Birch
Wooden Writing Desk with Drawers and Folding Door
Located in Marbella, ES
Wooden Writing Desk with Drawers and Folding Door
Category
19th Century European Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
George III Mahogany Desk or Secretary Attributed to Gillows, English 1790
Located in Rome, IT
George III amazing cabinet desk or secretary in mahogany wood, brass and leather with a drawers attributed to Gillows of Lancaster, circa 1780.
The secretary in the photo was exhib...
Category
1780s British George III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Metal, Brass
Bonheur Du Jour Drawer by MOB
Located in Geneve, CH
Bonheur Du Jour drawer by MOB
Limited editions of 15 + 1 prototype
Designer: Fala Atelier (Portugal)
Dimensions: H 200 x D 30 x W 65 cm
Material: Ash w...
Category
2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Secretaires
Materials
Marble
$15,633 / item
English Regency Sheraton-Style Secretary and Bookcase
Located in Dallas, TX
English Regency period mahogany and satinwood two-piece secretary cabinet. Pine secondary wood. Top section having a shaped cornice with an ebonized lion medallion flanked by sphinxe...
Category
Late 18th Century English Regency Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
19th Century Flemish Louis XIV Secretary or Bookcase with Embossed Brass
Located in Dallas, TX
19th Century Flemish Louis XIV secretary or bookcase with embossed brass combines the talents of a master furniture crafter with the artistry of a metal sculptor! Fashioned with a cl...
Category
Mid-19th Century Belgian Louis XIV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
18th-Century English Georgian Secretary
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Rare 18th-century English Georgian-style secretary or butler chest, never restored with original patina, three drawers with secretary in top drop drawer, original hardware, dove tail...
Category
18th Century English Georgian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
$1,050 Sale Price
30% Off
Lovely Mixed Wood Inlay French Secretary
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Exceptional classic French secretary having stunning floral inlay on all sides with a variety of different color woods. The interior features 6 drawers, an open shelf, and addition...
Category
19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Secretaires
Materials
Kingwood, Satinwood
$2,080 Sale Price
20% Off
19th Century Southern German Secretaire, Cherry, Biedermeier circa 1830
Located in Greven, DE
Plain Biedermeier Secretaire
South-West Germany
Cherry
Biedermeier circa 1830
Dimensions: H x W x D: 149 x 101 x 52 cm
Description:
Secretary standing on blackened block feet with...
Category
1820s German Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Cherry
English Chippendale Mahogany
Satinwood Fall Front Secretary w/ Bookcase C 1780
Located in Charleston, SC
English Chippendale mahogany and satinwood fall front secretary / bookcase with a molded edge pendent cornice, flanking upper case hinged original glass doors revealing removable int...
Category
1780s English Chippendale Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
English Regency Period Goncalo Alves and Gilt Brass Secretaire Bookcase
By John Mclean
Located in London, GB
A Regency period secretaire bookcase attributed to John Mclean of London.
Constructed in a well figured goncalo alves, with extensive use of gilt brass accents. Rising from compressed ball brass feet, the lower section consists of two blind cupboard...
Category
19th Century English Regency Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Light Gray 18th Century Period Swedish Two Part Secretary with Carved Pediment
Located in Tetbury, Gloucestershire
18th century period two part wood secretary with a decorative carved pediment. Two carved front doors open to storage, and beneath a fall front door ...
Category
18th Century Swedish Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Wood and parchment secretaire by Englander
Bonta, Argentina, circa 1940.
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Wood and parchment secretaire by Englander & Bonta, Argentina, circa 1940.
Category
1940s Argentine Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood, Parchment Paper
American Federal Period Mahogany Secretary Chest with Eagle Inlay, New England
Located in Norwood, NJ
A handsome American Federal period mahogany secretary chest, stylistically attributable to New England, (possibly Boston or Salem, Massachusetts), circa 1800–1820. The piece reflects...
Category
Early 19th Century American Federal Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Mid-Century Modern Secretary Desk Bookcase Cabinet By Heywood-Wakefield
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This American-Made Mid-Century Modern bookcase with secretary desk is by furniture maker Heywood-Wakefield. The model is M328 and was part of their Modern line that appeared during t...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Materials
Maple
American Mahogany Writing Desk with Bookcase Norfolk VA
Located in Charleston, SC
American mahogany writing desk with bookcase Norfolk VA, circa 1840.
Category
1830s American Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
18th Century Italian Painted Pine Bureau
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
18th Century Italian painted pine bureau. Circa 1780.
With lovely layers of old paint, this bureau offers plenty of overt and hidden storage across two s...
Category
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood, Pine, Paint
Late 19th Century Marquetry and Parquetry Bureau a Cylindre by François Linke
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Special Late 19th Century Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Marquetry and Parquetry Bureau a Cylindre By François Linke
François Linke – Index no. 393
The upper section with a s...
Category
Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century English Oak Root Writing Desk with Bronze Fittings
Located in Marbella, ES
19th century English oak root writing desk with bronze fittings.
Category
Mid-20th Century English Secretaires
Materials
Oak
Atomic Teak Bureau/Desk
Located in Puslinch, ON
Condition: Pre-Restored
Dimensions: 37.5” L x 18.5” D x 53.75” H (29.5” Desk Height)
Description: A vintage teak desk/bureau with drawers. Freshl...
Category
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Teak
$2,495
Italian Venetian Secretary, 18th Century
Located in CH
Italian Venetian Secretary (Secretaire / Bureau Cabinet)
18th Century
An 18th-century Italian Venetian Baroque secretaire, crafted in burl walnut and walnut veneer, exemplifying the...
Category
18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Secretaires
Materials
Walnut
Arne Vodder Rosewood Vanity Dresser
Located in Oakland, CA
circa 1955 Brazilian rosewood vanity with flip-top mirror and lights. Crafted of stunning Brazilian Rosewood with dark grains and dynamic book-matched patterns across the front of dr...
Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Secretaires
Materials
Glass, Rosewood
Amazing Secretary "À Abattant" Napoleon III French, 19th Century VIDEO
Located in Madrid, ES
AMAZING SECRETARY "À ABATTANT" NAPOLEON III
French, 19th century
in painted and gilded wood with bronze applications, interior with six drawers, l...
Category
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Louis XV Style Burlwood Ormolu Mounted Lady’s Desk
Located in Vero Beach, FL
French 19th century Louis XV style Burlwood Ormolu Mounted Lady’s Desk.
Elegant French burlwood and ormolu mounted Lady’s cylinder desk. The single door cabinet is raised by slend...
Category
19th Century French Louis XV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Ormolu
$7,600 Sale Price
20% Off
Scriban bar and secretary in Rosewood and Formica by Hans Olsen for C.S Mobler 1
Located in JOINVILLE-LE-PONT, FR
Exceptional Scandinavian multifunctional furniture. A fold-out tray, held by brass tenons, opens onto a secretary section and, at the bottom, a bar area for storing bottles. This pie...
Category
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
$5,589 Sale Price
20% Off
18th Century George III Quartersawn Oak Slant-Front Bureau / Desk
Located in Houston, TX
This handsome George III slant-front bureau, dating to the late 18th century (circa 1780), is a quintessential example of English provincial craftsmanship. Constructed from solid oa...
Category
18th Century English George III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Oak
Georgian Mahogany Tallboy
Located in Norwich, GB
Georgian flame mahogany Tallboy with canted, fluted corners, secrétaire break front with beautifully fitted interior, standing on bracket feet with br...
Category
1760s British Georgian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
19th Century, Anglo Indian Heavily Carved Rosewood Campaign Secretary Bookcase
Located in Atlanta, GA
This 19th-century Anglo-Indian campaign secretary bookcase (in 3-parts) is an extraordinary example of colonial-era craftsmanship, rendered in richly grained rosewood and heavily ado...
Category
Mid-19th Century British Indian Ocean Territory Anglo-Indian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
$9,600 Sale Price
20% Off
Walnut Chippendale Slant-Front Desk
Located in West Chester, PA
Desk with bold serpentine interior, document drawers with turnings and flames, and block-and-shell prospect door with carved tulip. Case with four gra...
Category
18th Century Antique Secretaires
Materials
Tulipwood
In the Manner of Jean Pascaud, Art Deco Drop Front Secretary, France, circa 1935
By Jean Pascaud
Located in New York, NY
Art Deco drop front secretary in the manner of Jean Pascaud. Made in France, circa 1935. Sycamore with a giltwood base, mahogany interior...
Category
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
Light Hardwood Library Bookcase Secrétaire Desk Brown Leather Surface
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to this stunning circa 1880 light mahogany library bookcase with secrétaire desk
A well made and collectable library bookcase. The top s...
Category
1880s English Victorian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Hardwood
Biedermeier Secretaire, Cherry Veneer, Inlays, Brass, South Germany circa 1830
Located in Regensburg, DE
Large, original Biedermeier Secretaire from South Germany around 1840.
Cherry veneered on softwood and solid cherry. Solid cherry solid columns with carved Corinthian capitals.
Pro...
Category
1830s Austrian Biedermeier Antique Secretaires
Materials
Iron, Tin
Early 19th Century Fall-Front Desk
Located in Buchanan, MI
Handsome and functional Regency mahogany fall front desk, server, entry way piece, great inlay, elegant form. Exceptional exaggerated arched foot.
Category
19th Century North American Federal Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany, Satin
Beautiful antique slanted flap secretary, 20th century. Walnut root veneer.
Located in Berlin, DE
Beautiful antique slanted flap secretary, 20th century. Walnut root veneer.
Solid wood with walnut root veneer and inlays. Slanted flap secretary made of solid wood, baroque. Multi-curved body...
Category
20th Century Italian Secretaires
Materials
Brass
18th Century English Painted Bureau
Located in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Pretty 18th century narrow painted bureau with a fitted interior and working lock and key. The interior features a hidden well and a lovely original chinoiserie lacquer. 1790.
Heigh...
Category
18th Century English George III Antique Secretaires
Materials
Oak
French 19th Century Secretary
Located in New Orleans, LA
This secretary desk opens up and offers a beautiful writing space, along with areas to store your writing material. The secretary has bronze mounts, a marble top and Venis Martin...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
H.W. Klein secretary cabinet in rosewood Bramin Denmark 1960
Located in Etten-Leur, NL
This elegant secretary cabinet was designed by H.W. Klein and produced by Bramin, Denmark, circa 1960. A refined example of Danish modern craftsmanship, the piece combines clean arch...
Category
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Rosewood
Circa 1810. French Empire Mahogany Secretary With Ormolu Fittings
Trim
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Circa 1810. French Empire Mahogany Secretary With Ormolu Fittings
Trim
Category
Early 19th Century French French Provincial Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
$2,730 Sale Price
58% Off
Scricciolo Jewelry Case by Hans Von Klier for Planula Agliana, Italy, 70s
Located in Padova, IT
Designed by Hans von Klier for Planula Agliana Manufacturing. Jewelry case Scricciolo model.
Original jewelry box with a refined and innovative design. The structure is in wood painted in shades of blue and satin silver. Small drawers allow the orderly storage of jewels and small objects. Its design is the work of the Czechoslovakian designer Hans von Klier who actively collaborated with the well-known Italian architect Ettore Sottsass for the definition of the line of many Olivetti calculators...
Category
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Mid Century Danish Teak Wood Bookcase Cabinet
Secretary Desk 1960s
Located in Detroit, MI
This vintage mid century Danish modern tall teak wood bookcase cabinet and secretary desk was made in Denmark circa 1960. The cabinet is well crafted from teak wood and the classic S...
Category
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Vintage Hardwood Marble Topped Chrome Drop Front Secretaire Desk with Drawers
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this exquisite, tall, Rosewood with marble top and chrome fittings free standing Secratire desk
A truly stunning desk, its very large and yet d...
Category
20th Century Italian Art Deco Secretaires
Materials
Marble, Chrome
Antique English Sheraton Satinwood Inlaid Secretary w/ Rosewood Banding Ca. 1880
Located in New Orleans, LA
Antique English Sheraton Satinwood Inlaid Secretary with Rosewood Banding, Circa 1880.
This is a very lovely secretary, typical of the period and with fine detail. The warm color of...
Category
Late 19th Century English Sheraton Antique Secretaires
Materials
Rosewood, Satinwood
20th Century Wood Venetian Double Body Trumeau Desk, 1960
Located in Vicoforte, Piedmont
Venetian trumeau from the mid-20th century. Moved furniture and veneered in walnut, burl, cherry and beech of excellent quality. Double body trumeau equipped with three external draw...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Italian Inlaid and Solid Walnut Wood Chest of drawers with Secretaire
Located in IT
18th century, Italian inlaid and solid walnut wood chest of drawers with secretaire
This chest of drawers with secretaire was made in...
Category
Mid-18th Century Italian Louis XV Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
20th Century Biedermeier Style Secretaire
Located in Berlin, DE
Delicate secretaire in Biedermeier style.
Maple roots on solid pinewood. Natrual leather covered and gold-embossing.
(L-Mhs-42).
Category
20th Century Biedermeier Secretaires
Materials
Leather, Wood, Maple
Atomic Teak Bureau
Located in Puslinch, ON
Condition: Pre-Restored
Dimensions: 37.5” L x 18.5” D x 53.75” H (29.5” Desk Height)
Description: A vintage teak desk/bureau with drawers. Freshl...
Category
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Teak
$2,495
Antique Tall Davenport, English, Walnut, Bureau Cabinet, Victorian, Circa 1860
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a fine antique tall Davenport. An English walnut, boxwood and rosewood bureau cabinet, dating to the mid Victorian period, circa 1860. A strikingly decorative and practical w...
Category
1860s British Victorian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Boxwood, Rosewood, Walnut
Antique Empire Cylinder-Top Secretary with Bookcase in Burled Ash
Located in INTERLAKEN, NY
An exceptional Empire secretary bookcase in fine burl ash wood. Denmark or North Germany, circa 1800. The bookcase features a tiered bonnet w...
Category
Early 19th Century Scandinavian Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Ash, Burl
Verni Martin secrétaire abattant , circa 1880
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality late 19th Century French Louis XVI style secretaries abbattant, having bombe shaped sides, gilded rococo style scrolling ormolu mounts. Wonderful hand painted Ver...
Category
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany
$9,286 Sale Price
20% Off
Antique Irish Burl Walnut Two Door Bookcase attrib Robert Strahan Dublin Ireland
Located in Dublin, Ireland
A very imposing example of an Irish Burr Walnut Two Door Library Bookcase, made during the third quarter of the Nineteenth Century. Firmly attributed to renowned furniture maker Robe...
Category
Mid-19th Century Irish Early Victorian Antique Secretaires
Materials
Mahogany, Walnut
Mid-Century Modern Secretary, Memphis Style
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern Secretary, Memphis Style
Category
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Contemporary Art Writing Desk Amanuense Nero Black by Adolfo Natalini
Located in Pistoia, IT
Limited edition of 99 numbered and signed copies.
Amanuense, decoded in his characterizing elements (the functional nature of the writing desk-Sécret...
Category
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
Secretary With Drawer by Mylene Niedzialkowski
Located in Geneve, CH
Secretary With Drawer by Mylene Niedzialkowski
Dimensions: W 59 x H 160.
Materials: Solid oak and solid steel.
A rotating secretary with engaged curves on a solid steel axis. Combin...
Category
2010s French Modern Secretaires
Materials
Steel
$18,238 / item
1970s Walnut Executive Campaign Waterfall Desk And Cabinet, Set of 2
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
On offer on this occasion is one of the most stunning, Mid Century desk and cabinet set you could hope to find. This is an ultra-rare opportunity to acquire what is, unequivocally, t...
Category
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Gray design Secretary desk designed in Paris by Eric Gizard, made in France
By Éric Gizard
Located in Landivy, FR
This secretary Desk belongs to our ÉGÉE COLLECTION designed by the Parisian designer Eric Gizard.
Eric adopts for this collection the refined codes of Scandinavian design, combin...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Scandinavian Modern Secretaires
Materials
Wood, Ash, Lacquer
1750s Spanish Bargueño with Marquetry and Red Tortoiseshell Plaques
Located in Marbella, ES
An elegant antique Spanish chest, richly decorated with filigree marquetry in gold tones and red tortoiseshell panels inlaid on each drawer front. Its original wrought iron fittings ...
Category
18th Century Spanish Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
18th Century Baroque Secretaire/ Writing Cabinet Nutwood, Germany ca. 1770
Located in Lichtenberg, AT
Important 18th century secrétaire or writing cabinet elaborately made in the baroque period in West Germany around 1770. Different kinds of fine nutwood/ walnut were used to set up a...
Category
Late 18th Century German Baroque Antique Secretaires
Materials
Brass
Ribalta secretaire Luigi XVI in legno di noce intarsiato. Fine XVIII sec.
Located in Torino, IT
Ribalta secretaire
Luigi XVI
in legno massello
di noce intarsiato,
con due cassetti esterni
e cassettini interni.
PERIODO
Fine Settecento,
Primo Ottocento
MODELLO
Ribalta con due c...
Category
Late 18th Century Louis XVI Antique Secretaires
Materials
Wood
Pair of Antique 19th C Empire Drop Front Desk Secretaries
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Pair of Antique 19th C Empire Drop Front Desk Secretaries.
Category
Mid-19th Century French Empire Antique Secretaires
Materials
Bronze
Antique, New and Vintage Secretaires
Your antique, new or vintage secretary desk has become the (chic) saving grace of the "new normal" at home.
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 — pigeonholes, cubbies, recesses or drawers — are revealed.
Traditionally, a secretary is composed of two parts — a chest of drawers on the bottom and a cabinet with shelves on the top. Taking its name from the French word for the piece, secrétaire, the secretary desk dates back to the 18th century, when Paris-based cabinetmaker Jean-François Oeben, known for his exquisite marquetry and clever mechanical desks, is thought to have invented the secrétaire à abbattant, or drop-leaf desk.
While the defining drop-down feature of the secretary desk has remained constant, the materials used, as well as its configuration, size and style have evolved over time.
At first, secretaries were typically made from exotic woods, like rosewood, tulipwood and kingwood; later, hardwoods like cherry, maple, oak and mahogany were more common. The desks also became lighter, with space carved out of the lower half for the writer’s feet or with drawers replaced by legs — making them more table-like.
When open, the secretary is a dynamic, versatile Wunderkammer. When closed, it’s a sophisticated, space-saving piece of furniture.
“A fine secretary with a good provenance adds stature and credence to its owner — it is a cornerstone piece,” says antiques dealer Stanley Weiss, who specializes in 18th- and 19th-century English and American furniture. “In this disposable world, fine furniture is always passed on and speaks to who its owner is.”
No matter what style or period you choose, and no matter how you decide to use it, the timeless, flexible secretary desk is bound to become an indispensable part of your daily routine.
Browse a range of antique and vintage secretary desks on 1stDibs, including mid-century modern secretaires, Georgian secretaires and others.
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