Lady's Writing Desk

Mahogany primary, Southern Yellow Pine secondary

Hornor's Blue Book of Philadelphia Furniture, Plate 256

This nice, portable lady's desk is well-proportioned and a bit unusual. The top of the original is nailed to the frame, so that the only access to the interior of the desk is through a faux drawer in the back of the case.
Rather than a true drawer, the face is hinged at the bottom and falls opens
to give access to the interior. The original is also missing its gallery -
you can see the ghost of the gallery on the top of the piece. I restored
the gallery by adding one copied from a similar period piece. I also hinged
the top to give easy access to the interior, but retained the faux drawer as a neat feature. I also added brackets to all legs, since the piece can be seen from all sides. I guess this is just to assuage modern sensibilities.