desk, a table, frame, or case with a sloping or horizontal top particularly designed to aid writing or reading, and often containing drawers, compartments, or pigeonholes.
The first desks were probably designed for ecclesiastical use. Early English desks derived from the church lectern were massive; after the development of printing, they gave way to smaller, portable chests with sloping lids—called writing boxes—some of which featured drawers and letter holes. The lids on most writing tables and also on the later writing cabinets (with drawers below and cupboards above) were hinged either at the front or back; those hinged at the front often were supported in a horizontal position by slides that could be pulled out of the framework, by hinged stays fixed inside the lid, or by a combination of both. By the late 16th century writing boxes were usually mounted on stands.
Many desk styles were produced in the 18th century. Small, portable “ladies’ desks” became popular in England. In France, where the habit of writing little notes became something of a social mania, the variety was remarkable. The cylinder top and rolltop were among the popular desks of the period; many featured ingenious mechanical devices. The cylinder top was a rigid, quarter-circle shutter covering the interior. The top could be slid back into the body of the desk while, at the same time, a writing surface might be drawn forward. An early rolltop desk was designed for Louis XV.
The kneehole desk was developed in England in the early 18th century. Its top was supported by two banks of cupboards, or drawers, separated by a space for the legs of the person seated at the desk. Larger versions—known as library tables or partners’ desks—enabled two people to work facing each other. School desks, popular since early Victorian times, developed from the portable and lectern desks and were modified to fit current educational theories.
Modern desks reflect contemporary styles. Some are little more than writing surfaces with, perhaps, one drawer for the storage of writing materials. Others contain a number of drawers (sometimes accommodating hanging files), platforms designed to support typewriters or computer keyboards, and other elements that reflect modern work and home needs. See also bureau; secretary.