Drop front desks have been around for a while. They were popular at the beginning of the 20th century, and were generally used for writing letters, or serving as a functional desk. G. Stickley was one of the top furniture producers and made several different styles of these desks.
Not many people may know this, but just last week, Sunday May 20th 2012, the Treadway Toomey Gallery of Oak Park Ill. held an auction of original Stickley pieces from the John L. Jerome collection. One of the surprise pieces was a drop front desk, somewhat familiar to my original design. Both Stickley's design, and my piece are made of select quartered Oak, and are very close in size. The Stickley desk was made in 1902, and would have been great for letter writing. His desk also came with a wicker basket,( that would no longer serve a purpose today.) My design has been revised to be in step with today's way of communicating, lap top computers, though you could also use it to write a letter. There are however two very large differences between the original Stickley drop front desk, and my humble Arts and Crafts interpretation. First, the Stickley piece is clearly marked with a red logo on the back panel, and secondly the Stickley piece sold for $51, 850. That piece is gone, but you can still purchase mine for $1, 495. Now that's a real bargain.
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