Bureau Marie-Antoinette Riesener Versailles

A writing table (French ''bureau plat'') has a series of drawers directly under the surface of the table, to contain writing implements, so that it may serve as a

desk A desk or bureau is a piece of furniture with a flat table (furniture), table-style work surface used in a school, office, home or the like for academic, professional or domestic activities such as reading (activity), reading, writing, or using ...

. Antique versions have the usual divisions for the

inkwell An inkwell is a small jar or container, often made of glass, porcelain, silver, brass, or pewter, used for holding ink in a place convenient for the person who is writing. The artist or writer dips the brush, quill, or dip pen into the inkwell ...

, the blotter and the sand or powder tray in one of the drawers, and a surface covered with

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

or some other material less hostile to the

quill A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen/metal-Nib (pen), nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, event ...

or the

fountain pen A fountain pen is a writing instrument that uses a metal nib (pen), nib to apply Fountain pen ink, water-based ink, or special pigment ink—suitable for fountain pens—to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal r ...

than simple hard wood. In form, a writing table is a

pedestal desk A pedestal desk or a ''tanker desk'' is usually a large, flat, free-standing desk made of a simple rectangular working surface resting on two pedestals or small cabinets of stacked drawers of one or two sizes, with plinths around the bases. Of ...

without the pedestals, having legs instead to hold it up. This is why such tables are sometimes called leg desks. The writing table is often called a "bureau plat" when it is done in a French style such as

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

, etc. When a writing table is supported by two legs instead of four, it is usually called a

trestle desk There are two kinds of trestle desk: as with trestle tables, some have trestles joined by one or more stretchers (and sometimes to the desktop), and some have free-standing trestles. They can be dismantled, with the desk top removed from the tr ...

. The writing table is also sometimes called a library table, because it was often placed in a home library. This was the room in a house where a gentleman would keep literature and also do his business transactions. The library often housed, in addition, a round desk called a rent table and sometimes a

drawing table A drawing board (also drawing table, drafting table or architect's table) is, in its antique form, a kind of multipurpose desk which can be used for any kind of drawing, writing or impromptu sketching on a large sheet of paper or for reading a la ...

. The term library table is sometimes applied indiscriminately to a wide variety of desk forms, in addition to being used for writing tables. Some writing tables have additional drawers built above the surface. In this case they are often called

bureau à gradin A bureau à gradin is an antique desk form resembling a writing table with, in addition, one or several tiers of small drawers and pigeonholes built on part of the desktop surface. Usually the drawers and pigeonholes directly face the user, but t ...

instead of writing table, unless they have a more specific form, such as that of a Carlton House desk. A reading and writing table with an easel or double easel for books that was adjustable on a

ratchet Ratchet may refer to: Devices * Ratchet (device), a mechanical device that allows movement in only one direction * Ratchet effect in sociology and economics * Ratchet, metonymic name for a socket wrench incorporating a ratcheting device * Ratc ...

and a drawer fitted for writing implements was a mid-18th century English inventionDesign XXIV in

Ince and Mayhew Ince and Mayhew were a partnership of furniture designers, upholsterers and cabinetmakers, founded and run by William Ince (1737–1804) and John Mayhew (1736–1811) in London, from 1759 to 1803; Mayhew continued alone in business until 1809. Th ...

's ''Universal System of Household Furniture'', London, 1759-62, noted in

John Gloag John Gloag (10 August 1896 – 17 July 1981) was an English writer in the fields of furniture design and architecture, as well as science and speculative fiction. Gloag served with the Welsh Guards during the First World War, and was invalided ho ...

, ''A Short Dictionary of Furniture, rev. ed, 1969, ''s.v.'' "Reading Tables". that lasted as long as the habit endured of reading while standing. The writing tables are good for maintaining posture and help readers or writers to work longer, nowadays writing tables evolved into desk with desktop systems and other smart devices according to one's need.

Notes

{{Reflist

References

* Gloag, John. ''A Complete Dictionary of Furniture''. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 1991. * Oglesby, Catharine. ''French Provincial Decorative Ar''t. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1951. * Romand, Didier. ''L'argus des meubles''. Paris: Balland, 1976. * Souchal, Genevieve. ''French Eighteenth Century Furniture''; translated by Simon Watson Taylor. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1963. Desks Tables (furniture)

See also

Notes

References