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Though the origins of this decorative style date back to the fifteenth century this desk is undoubtedly modern. The desktop conceals two large hinged compartments that move to reveal a partial tabletop that lifts for a typewriter shelf as well as a lift-top ledger table. A small hinged compartment in the desktop, originally installed for pencils, allegedly held a telephone at one time.This reflects a blend of old and new typical of this period’s taste making this traditional furniture piece suitable for modern use. The February 1918 issue of The New Country Life describes a new type of desk that has just come on the market: "There are instances in which exteriors [of furniture] admirably done in oak paneling which is vigorously carved with the beautiful Gothic-Tudor linenfold…..conceal substantial, modern and excellently usable interiors of shelves, drawers sliding trays, or even a writing desk."
Since a similar desk in style is shown in the Wanamaker’s/Keen elevations (c.1916), this massive piece of furniture was undoubtedly acquired early enough for Mr. Reynolds to have played a part in its selection. He fell ill six months before the family moved into Reynolda, and during the few winter months he spent at home, he would not have been well enough to work at his desk for any length of time. Since it contains a compartment for a typewriter, it was, undoubtedly, also intended for secretarial use.
ProvenanceFrom 1964
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, acquired in 1964. [1]
Notes:
[1] In the early 1960s Charles H. Babcock (1899-1967) gave the house and its contents to the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. The house was then incorporated as a museum and collection (Reynolda House, Inc.) on December 18, 1964 with the signing of the charter at its first board meeting. The museum first opened to the public in September 1965.
DepartmentRestricted
Desk
Datecirca 1918
Mediumoak and possibly other woods, various metals
DimensionsOverall: 29 15/16 × 92 1/2 × 30 3/4 in. (76 × 235 × 78.1 cm)
Credit LineReynolda Estate
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object number1922.2.155
DescriptionThe massive Gothic Revival Tudor-style oak desk with flat top is decorated on all sides with large panels of relief carved linenfold ornament below a carved frieze of half flowers in arches. The short legs are turned with large balusters and joined with plain stretchers at the floor. The description fits the oak desk purchased just a few months earlier from Mr. Reynolds’ study. Its front, back, and sides are carved with a band of Tudor roses above panels with a Gothic design called linenfold. Linenfold (or linen fold) is a simple style of relief carving used to decorate wood paneling with a design imitating folded linen. First used in Flanders, the style became widespread across Northern Europe in the 14th to 16th centuries. Regional variations quickly developed in England, France, and Germany. The name linenfold was applied to this ornament by antiquarian connoisseurs in the early 19th century. Though the origins of this decorative style date back to the fifteenth century this desk is undoubtedly modern. The desktop conceals two large hinged compartments that move to reveal a partial tabletop that lifts for a typewriter shelf as well as a lift-top ledger table. A small hinged compartment in the desktop, originally installed for pencils, allegedly held a telephone at one time.This reflects a blend of old and new typical of this period’s taste making this traditional furniture piece suitable for modern use. The February 1918 issue of The New Country Life describes a new type of desk that has just come on the market: "There are instances in which exteriors [of furniture] admirably done in oak paneling which is vigorously carved with the beautiful Gothic-Tudor linenfold…..conceal substantial, modern and excellently usable interiors of shelves, drawers sliding trays, or even a writing desk."
Since a similar desk in style is shown in the Wanamaker’s/Keen elevations (c.1916), this massive piece of furniture was undoubtedly acquired early enough for Mr. Reynolds to have played a part in its selection. He fell ill six months before the family moved into Reynolda, and during the few winter months he spent at home, he would not have been well enough to work at his desk for any length of time. Since it contains a compartment for a typewriter, it was, undoubtedly, also intended for secretarial use.
ProvenanceFrom 1964
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, acquired in 1964. [1]
Notes:
[1] In the early 1960s Charles H. Babcock (1899-1967) gave the house and its contents to the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. The house was then incorporated as a museum and collection (Reynolda House, Inc.) on December 18, 1964 with the signing of the charter at its first board meeting. The museum first opened to the public in September 1965.
Status
On view1885-1900
Object/Object
