XIV
DESKS AND SECRETARIES
CERTAINLY as far as the South is concerned, the desk is its most distinguished piece of furniture when the uses to which it was put are recalled. Washington, Jefferson, Mason, Madison, and Monroe spent much of their time at their desks, writing state papers and the
Carved Bible box
many interminable letters of that day that had to do with public affairs.
The term desk, now in general use in America, denotes any object of furniture used for writing purposes. Bureau, the English term for an inclosed writing cabinet, is one of the many names for the desk. The modern use of the word, secretary, is from the French word, scriptoire, meaning to write, and scrutoire. Secretary, today, means a desk with a bookcase top.
The origin of the slant-top desk is the simple Bible box. This box was used as a stand to hold the Bible, or on which to write, and was made from various native woods. The few found in the South are made of oak, decorated with carving. The early colonial gentleman must, of course, learn to write, particularly with long letters to be sent back to England, and the Bible box was put upon a stand and made to take the form of a desk. In 1690 a chest, with a top having a solid fall board, enclosing drawers and pigeonholes, came into use. This was one of the forerunners of the secretary. Few of this type are known in the South, and those few are of English origin.
In the first half of the eighteenth century, the desk took many forms. The slant-top desk, with drawers below, was the most popular, and continued so with the char-
Fall-front desk
