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A military commander's desk from the early 1920s.

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    Posted 9 years ago

    Milcollector
    (1 item)

    Please help me find the manufacturer and model of this desk.

    The above photos show the desk of the commander of a major Army installation. Photo dates (l-r): 1925, 1932, 1944, 1953. On that desk transpired major decisions spanning from the post-WWI years to the height of the Cold War. Sadly, the desk was later lost. I was tasked with recreating the layout of the actual former office of the commander, as it was used by the commanders until those functions moved to a new building in 1964. An identical desk is to be the centerpiece, just as it was back then. This office recreation within the actual historic commander's office will be readily accessible for soldiers to view as a sort of informal museum.

    Description: It is a double desk (Partners Desk) and about as wide as it is deep. Dark wood (or maybe metal). No carvings. Flat surfaces. top surface has glass cover from the 1930s onward. It has a silver band at top edge. Drawer pulls appear silver and have square ends (part that touches the drawer). There are 8 legs (4 per pedestal). Leg bottoms are bronze, have a slight curve on front side and have wheels. Modesty panel between pedestals. Pedestal on left has three drawers and a pull-out writing slab. Pedestal on right has 1 drawer, 1 file sized drawer and a pull-out writing slab. Each side of the double desk was probably identical.

    Please advise me: Is a search to find the manufacturer a needle in a haystack? Two things to narrow down the search are (1) this would probably be a major furniture manufacturer; and (2) manufacturers which made double desks would probably be few.
    Is there a specialized museum or expert I should contact?
    Thank you

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    Comments

    1. scottvez scottvez, 9 years ago
      Looking at the pictures, I am surprised that it is a partners desk. It doesn't look wide enough in photo #1 and it doesn't appear that you can see through the underside.

      Do you have pictures that show drawers on both sides.

      It will be tough to find the same desk, but should be an easier task looking for something SIMILAR that could be tweaked (change out pulls) to fit the display.

      scott

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