There are two kinds of trestle desk: as with

trestle table In woodworking, a trestle table is a table consisting of two or three trestle supports, often linked by a stretcher (longitudinal cross-member), over which a board or tabletop is placed. In the Middle Ages, the trestle table was often lit ...

s, some have trestles joined by one or more

stretchers A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

(and sometimes to the desktop), and some have free-standing trestles. They can be dismantled, with the desk top removed from the trestles, for storage or transport.

Antique trestle desk (linked trestles)

The antique trestle

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 ...

has linked trestles. It is usually very much like the writing table desk form, which offers a simple flat desktop surface with a few drawers underneath it. Unlike the writing table the trestle desk is supported by two legs instead of four, and the legs are designed to be dismantled easily in order to store or move the desk efficiently. More precisely, the two legs are two strong side supports which branch out in two feet each (for a total of four) at the bottom. These trestles are fastened together, and sometimes to the desktop, to make a rigid support. Some antique trestle desks are fitted with small cubbyholes and nooks or small drawers at the extremity of the work surface, and thus resemble a bureau à gradin. As with most antique desk forms, this trestle desk surface is usually 29 inches (73.7 cm) from the floor (suitable for handwriting).

Modern trestle desk

The modern trestle desk is not so much a desk form as a desk improvisation. In shape and manufacture it sometimes resembles certain variations of the antique field desk which was used by officers not too far from the battlefield. Basically, the modern trestle desk improv is a plank of wood set on two trestles. It is eminently portable, and eminently practical, when care is taken to provide stable trestles. The advent of the

cubicle desk A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that ...

created a market for independent desk elements of all kinds, such as short, rolling filing cabinets. These proved suitable for use under a trestle desk and encouraged improvisation. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, a desk or a table set on X-shaped trestles is sometimes called a sawbuck table. See also the

list of desk forms and types This is a list of different types and forms of desks. Desk forms and types * Armoire desk * Bargueño desk * Bench desk * Bible box * Bonheur du jour * Bureau à gradin * Bureau brisé * Bureau capucin * Bureau Mazarin *''Bureau plat'', see W ...

References

*Gloag, John. A Complete Dictionary of Furniture. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1991. *Moser,Thomas. Measured Shop Drawings for American Furniture. New York: Sterling Publishing Inc., 1985. Desks Portable furniture {{furniture-stub