Desk, Portable

Object Name:

Desk, Portable

Object ID:

1947.007.06

Place of Origin:

Europe or American

Date:

1865-1875

Description:

Lap Desk. Mahogany, with pine secondary wood. Rectangular box that opens on a slant, creating a slightly angled writing surface which is covered with purple velvet. Three interior compartments, including a long well for pens and nibs. Storage space below each side of the writing surface. Lid exterior has stencilled polychrome cartouche. Edges of lid are beveled, and painted black in the bevel. Four gold lines painted around box exterior (perhaps to resemble brass straps, which were common on early-19th-century lap desks). Pine bottom.
Box contains a leaf-shaped pen-wipe, a fragment of gilded frame from a painting, and a handwritten note. Note reads, "Greenland NH Sep 25th 1875 / I Eleanor Packer sell to my daughter / Mary C. Packer one chamber suit / consisting of 3 (three) pieces / Bedstead Dressing case & Wash / Stand, sum $20 / received payment / Eleanor Packer."

Material:

Wood
Mahogany
Pine

Dimensions:

H-4.25 W-13 D-9 inches

Provenance:

Bequest of Bertha Vaughan (1873-1947) of Portsmouth, NH.
Note inside desk -- a receipt from donor's grandmother, Eleanor Haines Packer (1801-1887), to donor's aunt, Mary C. Packer (1851-), dated 1875, Greenland, NH -- suggests that this piece was used by Mary C. Packer of Greenland, NH.

Credit Line:

Bequest of Bertha Vaughan

People:

Packer, Eleanor, Packer, Mary C., Vaughan, Bertha (1873-1946)