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I finally realized that it is not a western desk; It is an English desk from the early 20th century. The clues are the wood itself and the hardware. English oak from this period has a distinctively different grain from the golden oak in American furniture from this period. The oversized hardware is clearly English too. The odd shading pattern was caused by someone removing the original dark finish, but giving ample space to the hardware areas, creating similar, dark patterns in the wood as a result of really poor workmanship.
A “fold-out desk” is a 20th century recreation of a variation on the 19th century “butler’s desk.” Legend has it that the butler of a 19th century upper-class house was never seen seated. As one of his duties was also to keep the household accounts, he had to have a desk, but he did not sit there. It was designed so that you could stand up and do your paperwork. The desk unit was incorporated into a chest of drawers to save space. In fact, that piece is made from maple, probably in the 1950s or 1960s.
Bodart Furniture Co. was in business in Grand Rapids from 1949 to 1973. Bodart made quality reproductions of European antique furniture shapes, including desks, tables, chests, and upholstered pieces. Since they are obviously not in business right now, you may have a hard time finding the matching chairs. But I bet you can find a lot of nice chairs that would go well with this table. They do not necessarily have to be Bodart chairs.
The first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was a man known by the name of John Winthrop. Born in Surrey, England, legend has it that Winthrop arrived in Massachusetts with an original piece of furniture that instantly won the favor of the settlers: a slanted reception. After the desk became popular, it was renamed in honor of its original owner.
While the story is nice, there is little truth to it. Governor Winthrop was a royal man who ruled Massachusetts until his death in 1649, but this was a good 50 years before the first drop-down desks appeared in his native country. The famous curves attributed to the governor. The Winthrop style was not created until the mid-18th century, when Thomas Chippendale designed the first writing desk of this variety.
Although many members of the public believe that this style of furniture was named after a specific man, when looking at this story from a historical perspective, it is obvious that Governor Winthrop never owned the furniture attributed to him. Although Thomas Chippendale technically invented the design, he also did not label it “Governor Winthrop.”
The answer to this puzzle is the Winthrop Furniture Company of Boston, which created a new desk model in 1924 and called it “Gov. Winthrop.” The name is now a common part of the furniture vocabulary and has increased the popularity of other furniture of the same design, commonly known as the “Gov. Winthrop” style. Today you can find many different types of antique furniture that are named after Winthrop because of this unique design.
We installed a humidifier for the winter, which certainly helps the furniture, but we can’t control the summer, as we don’t have air conditioning. I’m not familiar with Arizona, but I think it’s very dry there, so yeah, putting a little moisture in the air should help. Other than that, keep all wooden furniture away from direct sun and heat sources. A good paste wax with bra wax, for example, is the only thing I can recommend for this piece. Apparently all the pieces made from a particular type of imported mahogany bore the label you described.
The desk is from the late 19th century or maybe even the early 20th century and is part of the great “Golden Oak” period. The style is very similar overall to the famous turn-of-the-century Larkin desks with the front open shelf below the drop. It could be an American piece but the decorative motif is more European or English. Also, the desk is made of flat cut oak and shows none of the quarter cut oak generally seen in American pieces from this era. The finish has been redone and looks more recent than the 1960s.