Seemingly plain desk has a glorious bold pattern
Q: I amforwarding a picture of a slant-top desk. Can you tellmeits approximate age and value?
A: We usually like a lot more information in a letter, but the two pictures areworth at least a few hundredwords.
The first thingwe notice is this piece of furniture is whatwewould 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, butwe suppose it has pigeonholes for holding correspondence, perhaps a shelf to store stationery, a drawer for stamps and other accouterments and maybe a place to hold a ledger. The drawer underneathwas probably there to store other useful items.
The reader calls it a slant-top desk, but it is also called a drop-front desk, a slant-front desk and occasionally a fall-front desk. We really have no strong preference, but “slant front” seems to be the most descriptive and most often used.
The second thingwe notice is thewonderful grain in the oak thatwas used to make the piece. “Tiger stripe” oak might be used to describe it, but the pattern is so bold and so randomly scattered that it transcends most tiger stripe pieces and becomes a bold pattern all its own.
And this is the glory of this otherwise rather plain desk. You might call it
“tiger stripe with a vengeance.”
The label found on the desk indicates itwas made by theHerzog Art Furniture Company, whichwas also designated on the labels as theHerzog Table Company, both of Saginaw, Michigan. The part of the labelwe can read says they primarily made music cabinets, parlor and library tables, plus another item or category thatwe could not decipher.
Also on the label is the indication thatHerzog initially shipped this to A. C. Robinson and Son in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the town ofGroundhogDay fame.
There is not a great deal known about theHerzog Art Furniture Company except that itwas founded by JohnHerzog circa 1900
or a little before and merged with the Sonora Phonograph Company in 1923. The desk in today’s questionwasmade circa 1910 and is a style ofHerzog furniture that seems to turn up quite often.
For retail purposes, this piece should be valued in the $300 to $350 range.
Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson have written a number of books on antiques. Do you have an item you’d like to know more about? Contact them at Joe Rosson, 2504 SeymourAve., Knoxville, TN37917, or email them at treasures@knology.net. If you’d like your question to be considered for their column, include a high-resolution photo of the subject, which must be in focus, with your inquiry.