Country Market find
Gary Smyth
Located in Finleyville, PA - in a food/fruit/plant/tree nursery complex - Coal Country. A note inside drawer bottom from Highland Falls, NY -Hudson River country - town adjacent to West Point Military Academy.
Spotted this fifty yards away. Seriously, I couldn't get my offer in fast enough. Davenport desk. Small when compared to today's desks -- approximately 25"w x 23"d x 30" h. Previously used but "idle for a year or so". I haven't seen one in real life before this one. A dust catcher for sure, but I'll take the time to dust it.
History
The Davenport desk owes its name to a Capt. Davenport, a member of the British Royal Navy. Believed to have been designed by Davenport for use on a ship, the original model was made during the late 1700's by Gillow & Co., a prominent London cabinetmaker.
Founded in 1730 by Robert Gillow (1704-1772), the firm continued to produce fine furniture throughout a series of sales, mergers and acquisitions lasting almost three centuries.
Small, compact Davenport writing desks made from walnut, mahogany or rosewood were particularly popular from the 1830s until the early 1900s. Once found in the libraries, children’s rooms, ladies sitting rooms and back parlors of large Victorian-era homes, many interesting variations exist.