By Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson
From Tribune News Service
Dear Helaine and Joe:
I am forwarding a picture of a slant top desk. Can you tell me its approximate age and value?
Thank you,
P. R.
Dear P. R.:
The first thing we notice is this piece of furniture is what we would call a “lady’s desk.” Its diminutive size and rather spindly cabriole legs plus the mirror suggest a place where milady of the house could sit and write notes or letters to friends and relatives and check her appearance in the mirror.
We do not have a photograph of the inside compartment, but we suppose it has pigeonholes for holding correspondence, perhaps a shelf to store stationery, a drawer for stamps and other accoutrements and maybe a place to hold a ledger of some sort. The drawer underneath was probably there to store other useful items that did not need to be at hand immediately….