Leather topped writing desk... so many questions.

Ok so I am moving furniture around my house. I have had this for close to 20 years. It was given to me by my x-MIL.

Anyways, I don't know anything about it. Would love some opinions.

Is it a genuine antique?

Why are the back legs so funny?

Is that a burl wood veneer on the drawer fronts?

Is it a keeper?

I like it. I have used it as a vanity area for quite sometime cause my bathroom isn't big enough for makeup and hair routines. Anything you can tell me about it would be great.

One of the legs is a little wobbly from one too many moves. Wonder what would be the best way to fix it.

There are no markings on it and the leather top is looking pretty rough these days not that it was ever perfect. What do you guys think?

 

Hi Robin,
Looks very 1940ish to me. I would get a can of good men's shoe polish in burgundy and give the leather a good rub in let it dry for an hour and buff the hell out of it. To do the leg right I would remove it and clamp the pieces with a good glue between the pieces and let it dry for an hour and then reattach. Otherwise I would smear Elmer's wood glue between the pieces and clamp. Be sure to wipe the excess glue off with water after clamping.
greg

 

Thanks! I will do that.

 

I'd say more into the 50's....that hardware was in my home when I was a kid, & I have my folks round table , leather top which is similar.

 

What Greg said. And, I did not see anything hilarious about the back legs. Of course, humor is in the eye of the beholder.

 

I canNOT resist an obvious pun!

 

I just don't understand why they are 3 pieces instead of one solid piece like the front.

 

Hi Komo,
I said the 40s since the leather top has a little more design to it than the ones I normally seen from the 50s.
greg

 

Hi Robin,
The back legs are not straight since the desk was meant to be seen from both sides, like in the middle of the room. Just a small detail but nice in keeping with the idea of a receptionists desk.
greg

 

But I mean why did they use 3 seperate pieces of wood on the back legs? The front legs don't have those seams. The front legs appear to be solid pieces but the back legs both have seams.

 

That's where they split.

 

Hey Greg....
I just took a peek at my table and it's got stamping on both sides of the gold leaf design, with the leaf being a little bit more ornate .
My folks married in 1950....so ya......maybe late 40's is a more correct vintage ...????

 

Multi-layered wood in furniture (or rifle stocks for that matter) is termed "laminated." It is usually a cheaper way to come up with wood of the proper color and thickness when thick-enough wood pieces that are also dry enough are hard to find. Thinner pieces are planed, glued up, stacked and clamped with heavy pressure, and when dry the roughly-shaped sandwich is cut down to the finished shape. The laminated pieces were stained and put in back to sort of hide them, and solid used in front. I don't mean to be insulting your intelligence if you are familiar with lamination, but since you didn't use that term I thought writing it up might be helpful.

 

No no not insulting at all. I am here to learn and I gladly take all the info I can get. Thank you for taking the time to explain this.

 

Hard to say age on this. Definitely post-war. With that shiny hardware, I would think 50s or later unless they have been polished at some point.