A Carlton House desk is a specific antique desk form within the more general bureau a gradin form. A desk is a Furniture form and a class of table often used in a work or Office setting for reading or Writing on or using a Computer A Bureau a gradin or bureau à gradin is basically an antique Desk form resembling a Writing table with in addition one or several tiers of small drawers and pigeonholes This specific form is supposed to have been designed in the 18th century for the Prince of Wales (who would later become George IV) by George Hepplewhite. George Hepplewhite (1727? - June 21, 1786) was a cabinet and Chair maker It is named after Carlton House, which was at the time the London residence of the Prince of Wales. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. This kind of desk is sometimes also known as a Carlton House writing table.
The desk is like a normal writing table but the small drawers above the surface form a U shape around the user instead of being merely set up in front of him as is usual in a typical bureau a gradin. Unlike other types of bureau a gradin the Carlton House desk usually offers no pigeonholes.
Drawings of this type of desk were presented by Hepplewhite in his famous design book the Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide, and by Thomas Sheraton in his own famous book of designs (The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book), thus ensuring its popularity. The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide is a famous antiquarian Book, reference book and non-fiction work all in one Thomas Sheraton ( 1751 - October 22 1806) was a furniture designer, one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century
See also the list of desk forms and types. Any list of desk forms and types encountered in the modern Office or home and in antique stores is incomplete and contradictory given the variations in the naming
References
- Aronson, Joseph. The Encyclopedia of Furniture. 3rd ed. New York: Crown Publishers, 1966.
- Gloag, John. A Complete Dictionary of Furniture. Woodstock, N. Y. : Overlook Press, 1991.
- Nickerson, David. English Furniture of the Eighteenth Century. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1963.