Above it are two tambour doors, behind which are drawers and pigeonholes and a door in the centre with an oval inlay of satinwood. Above these doors is a cabinet with glass doors. The pediment is like the one in Illustration [114]. This secretary was made about 1800, and belongs to Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., of Cambridge.
Illustration [117] shows a small Sheraton writing table for a lady’s use, also owned by Mr. Bigelow. It is of simple construction, having one drawer, and when the desk is closed, the effect is that of a small table with a flat top.
Illustration [118] shows a desk which was copied from one of Sheraton’s designs, published in 1793, and described as “a lady’s cabinet and writing table.” The legs in Sheraton’s drawing are slender and straight, while these are twisted and carved, and the space, which in the design is left open for books, in this desk is closed with a tambour door.
Illus. 118.—Sheraton Desk, about 1810.
The slide which shows above the compartment pulls out, with a mechanism described by Sheraton, and when fully out, it drops to form the cover for the compartments. The Empire brasses upon the top are original, but the handles to the drawers are not. They should be brass knobs. This beautiful little desk was made about 1810 for William T. Lane, Esq., of Boston, and is owned by his daughter, Mrs. Thomas H. Gage of Worcester.
Illus. 119.—Desk, about 1820.
Illustration [119] shows a bureau and desk, belonging to Mrs. J. H. Henry of Winchendon. The lid of the desk turns back like the lid of a piano. The carved pillars at the side are like the ones upon the bureau in Illustration [37], and upon other pieces of furniture of the same date, about 1820.