Page:Southern Antiques - Burroughs - 1931.djvu/130

106   of each period until 1800. The Queen Anne, with cabriole leg, came in the first quarter of the eighteenth century along with the desks on stretcher frames. Southern examples are found.

Among the various types of desks employed at the beginning of the second quarter of the eighteenth century was the secretary-desk, consisting of a bookcase



resting on a slant-top desk. In the hands of Chippendale it became a thing of beauty; and Southern cabinetmakers did not fail to grasp some of its possibilities. Secretaries with arched tops and ogee feet became popular. Cabinets with serpentine drawer fronts were a favorite design. Walnut, in most instances, with mahogany at times, was employed to fine effect. Walnut was, in fact, the favorite wood in all states except Maryland, until the middle of the eighteenth century, when mahogany came into full sway. The finest pieces after 1750 were mahogany.

The influence of Hepplewhite and Sheraton were felt about 1795, and pleased as Southern craftsmen were with the classic line and more delicate ornamentation, they inlaid their pieces, and many slant-top desks are found with French feet. Many tambour desks and tables for writing purposes, made in the South, show the influence of these two English designers. Rural furniture makers even tried hard to reproduce the designs of Hepplewhite and Sheraton in native woods, as shown in this book. Another form of secretary was popular at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It resembled a chest of drawers with a bookcase top. The top drawer was very deep, and enclosed a writing cabinet. This style had appeared in the South as early as 1750. Southern secretaries became heavy under the Empire influence. The work, however, was of a high order.

It may be noted that the demand among collectors today for small desks not over thirty-six inches in width, is open to question. There is no reason apparent why such selection should be made. The choice of a desk for fine workmanship and good qualiityquality [sic] does not depend on its being small. Many small desks have poor cabinets; in many cases improved by fakers. Many of the so-called small desks were originally large, and cut down to meet the requirements of the trade. A further question is, whether, in actually buying the desk, the collector is able to distinguish the actual width of what he is after when the piece