Secretary desk age and style?

[Jasonbartosz]

[/url]https://www.dropbox.com/s/sjxza36dqv88iy1/2012-12-21%2009.34.18.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rm1vafluaxtrvrg/2012-12-21%2009.34.48.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sjxza36dqv88iy1/2012-12-21%2009.34.18.jpg[url]

My wife and I purchased this piece from a local antique dealer approximately 10 years ago.  We know nothing about the desk.  All of the screws are slotted and appear to be hand slotted, not machine, as some of the slots are slightly off center.  It has skeleton keys.  On the upper outside corner of the panels in the back is embossed the number 607 and what must have been a symbol that is no longer legible.  Any information is greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Jason

[bigwull]

Hi Jason...a general location would help...as not everyone one here is in the US...I,m in Scotland...and first of all ,this is the first time ever..that i,ve seen the last two letters of a user name...that are the same two last letters of my surname....Now to your desk...looking at the back...it looks like plywood...which if it is would indicate to me 1930,s...over here in the UK...in Scotland to be more precise..value in this condition...is,nt very good...and i,m being generous when i say..£50/75

[Rauville]

I pretty much agree with Bigwull on date and price. I might extend that age range into the 1940's.

(Bigwull; You got me overly curious as to your surname. About 3 clicks on Google is all it took, and I found W.O. and A.B. It's amazing how public our lives have became today with the internet. )

[bigwull]

there,s no hiding places now....

[Jasonbartosz]

Thanks for the quick replies.  The back of the desk is a 1/4" rough sawn veneer.  The value of it was less interesting to me than the age.  It must be that the style and plywood put it from the 30's?  The pictures in this case make it looks worse than it is.  The finish on top should be renewed, but the overall condition of the wood is still quite good.  Do you believe that the glass in the doors is original, or that it was replaced at some point?


In my introduction on another page,I mentioned i was from Oregon.  My surname has always been a point of debate in our family.  That is until I found a town in Poland by the name Bartoszyce.  At that point it was difficult to argue the origins.

[mart]

I can`t get the pics to open !! Can you post them here ?? Its easy to do !!  Just go to reply and then additional options, browse for the pics, when loaded just hit post !!

[bigwull]

Looking over the front...I would say that the glass look original..to check for yourself look at the glazing beads...they should be quadrant..and pinned, the carcase looks like an oak veneer.......what you,ve said about your name is very interesting..to me...i,m 62...and even after having it since birth...people still question..when i,m asked how do you pronounce it....i just tell them....think of the SZ...as SH...as for the rest..well..its a bit like yours...the fore part of surname is original.it comes from the Ukraine.....but the last part is taken from a village in Poland...and when the two were put together...it made a Polish sounding name....which at the time it was done...suited the purpose..for my late father..as to have a West Ukrainian name...in 1945...and have a German uniform on your back...meant almost certain death...if the wrong pair of hands got a hold of you....as it was he was able to escape the clutches....of .."Big Joe"..and made a life in the UK...After he died..I eventually tracked down...my long lost extended family...in a village 20km from Lvov....and then found that the name they have...is,nt that far removed from mine...Omelyash...a s opposed to mine which is Omelasz...they both sound the same....and thats all that matters...

[bigwull]

I can`t get the pics to open !! Can you post them here ?? Its easy to do !!  Just go to reply and then additional options, browse for the pics, when loaded just hit post !!

open well enough for us that are in the 21st century...i can even zoom in....i think its time you ditched the hamster.....

[mart]

Don`t give me a hard time Wullie just cause we are in the boonies !!  I ain`t moving to town !!

[bigwull]

Don`t give me a hard time Wullie just cause we are in the boonies !!  I ain`t moving to town !!

My Dearest Mart...would i give you a hard time.....as the late Great Spike Milligan...once said when he was caught naked under his best friends wife,s bed...."everybody,s got to be somewhere"...and you,like me..are in the boonies....the only difference being....I have Broadband...and you don,t....

[ghopper1924]

I would go with 1940s, agree on the price.

[Ipcress]

It looks 40's to me. The wood and way it's been manufactured suggest it might be post war, too.

[KC]

Secretary Bookcase, made at end of art deco era, $175 - $200 my neck-of-the-woods.

Great history Wullie!  I am sure you have written this all down for your kiddos/history?!

Wullie, when we moved to our home 21 years ago we were a new neighborhood built in the middle of farm land (long horns, brahmas, etc.)  Because of our location, in a few years it became the "hot" place to live and now we are surrounded by 10,000sf+ mansions.  Because we didn't have the "clout" we didn't get the Verizon until 3 years ago when finally we all yelled enough over time that it wasn't right to let everyone around us have it but not us.

[mart]

Don`t give me a hard time Wullie just cause we are in the boonies !!  I ain`t moving to town !!

My Dearest Mart...would i give you a hard time.....as the late Great Spike Milligan...once said when he was caught naked under his best friends wife,s bed...."everybody,s got to be somewhere"...and you,like me..are in the boonies....the only difference being....I have Broadband...and you don,t....

In a heartbeat you would !!!

[KC]

Yep he would...and does!  LOL