When last I left you I had teased you with the introduction of a new to me box on the dresser in the bedroom. My cousin informed me that I left her hanging!!! You see these boxes each have a secret.

I love boxes and have quite a collection from cardboard band boxes (reproduction) to a French leather hat box, a hair on hide carriage trunk, and of course my huge immigrants trunk. Boxes are a versatile way to hide things in plain site. These boxes hide a lot of my Christmas and seasonal decor in the room where I use them. Makes things easier.

But in the case of these two boxes they are different. The box now on the dresser, I inherited from my folks. I was first introduced to these marvelous boxes after my parents returned from the east coast where they had just traveled. Living in the midwest these types of boxes are not something easily found.

You see these two boxes are desks. Commonly known in the 18th Century as writing slopes, lap desk (although they are so heavy I can’t imagine using one on your lap), or traveling desks, they were easily stored and stacked and designed to store your paper, writing implements, ink and sand in one neatly designed package. The fact that these boxes were beautifully made with exotic woods made them a treasure for any 18th and early 19th Century home.

Many years ago I received a phone call from my mom asking me to come over immediately. She had been inspecting one of the boxes and discovered an engraving on the lock. She had had the box for many years but never noticed the engraving. Being the good dutiful daughter I immediately got in my car and headed over to her home. Her enthusiasm was palpable. On a bright Saturday morning the desk was placed on the dining table with the sun streaming in. Magnifying glass in hand she says take a look. Sure enough I could see there was something. Not a signature but their were marks. Our imagination absolutely ran away with us. Could that be a T and a J? Could this be a box made by Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved carpenter who had made several. Jefferson was known to give these slopes as gifts because he found them so useful. And of course, we had seen one in Monticello. We had both toured this majestic home on different vacations. A lot of discussion and squinting ensued.

Doing the best I could to take photos of the engraving with my iPhone I took the info home with me and started my sleuthing. Many hours later, I locked in on a British Company making writing slopes and I was able to date that one to around 1820. Turns out it was obviously a P the mark identical. Unfortunately I no longer have my notes on it and that one was sold at the estate sale, so I don’t have photos, but that desk sure made for a fond memory.

The box on the chest is one of her “lesser” slopes I’m sure bought for a very good price. The wood and brasses are glorious.

As I was taking it apart this morning I realized it is in some desperate need of restoration. This will make a new project for the future. It was fun to reintroduce myself to it. I opened it for the first time in almost 4 years. What was I in search of? The secret compartments of course! I am a sucker for secret compartments. I started by taking out the implement tray and removed the two small partitions.

I could see there was a hidden mechanism and I pushed the lever and pop! The front panel broke away.

That satisfying pop gave way to two hidden drawers underneath the implement tray. Oh I knew I could do it! Yes!!! The drawers are shallow and small but they were designed to hold small valuables. Then I was even able to put it back together. Would you know there were drawers behind there? The latch mechanism works just as well now as it did 200 years ago. Amazing!

The square compartments are for holding your ink bottles. The slope surface traditionally covered in leather like this one or baize a velvety type fabric. I’m going to have to do some soul searching about that leather. As you can see it is quite tattered. We’ll see. This slope is a lap desk it is smaller than my other box. The other tell is that it doesn’t have handles therefor not designed for traveling. Come on look at that wood. It’s so pretty!!!

I introduced you to the other slope in this post Quester’s Dining Table. This has been such a fun addition to my home. If you are new here this box I acquired years ago at the very first Junk Stock Festival in Omaha. After taking a road trip with my sister visiting our cousins in Indiana and my niece in Cleveland we of course were picking all along the way. I came home with so many treasures from that trip when I opened the hatch on my jeep everything started sliding out of my car before I could off load.

A few days later my daughter and I went to Junk Stock. It was a rainy spring day full of mud! Buried under a bunch of stuff I saw this box. It wasn’t open but I could tell from the side of it what it was. Making a beeline for the booth I started to unearth it. The dealer said “make me an offer”. The tag said WWII desk 365.00. The price was fair but I wasn’t in the market. I just wanted to look at it. The things going thru my mind? This desk is way older than that, worth way more than that and I’ll bet it has secret compartments. Again the dealer says to me “make me an offer”. I said no I’m just looking and I don’t want to insult you. Frankly, even knowing it was worth way more than 365.00 I just wasn’t in the market. I had spent so many $$$$ on our trip I needed to recoup. Again she said “make me an offer”. Again I said really I don’t want to insult you. She said “make me an offer”. (Is this begging?). My head said 195.00 my mouth said 175.00. I came home with the box and yes, it has secret compartments! The rest is history.

This desk is a traveling desk. It is larger and has the handles on the sides. It came with a couple of ink bottles and some nibs which was a fun discovery. The ink bottles on the plate are from my mom’s collection. Turkey Feathers were commonly used as writing implements because they were sturdy. The box has tiny ivory knobs on the covers for the storage.

Traveling Desks almost always had reinforced corners with brass to withstand the rigors of hard travel in a carriage and rutted roads. An educated gentleman would have one for correspondence and those hidden compartments designed to store valuables and a lock to keep prying eyes out of his correspondence. They were also popular in the military. There compact shape and inset handles made for easy stacking and storing. Thus Campaign hardware!

I love things that are “oddments”. Things from the past that we in a modern world are not familiar with. I don’t know the real story of these boxes, it may have served someone in WWII but it certainly served someone long before that. I suspect this may have been a family piece and how sad to think it survived in one family for almost 200 years only to be unappreciated by the next generation. Too bad, but I have given it new life and it has given me a new story. That is a win win.

Do you have a great story? Share it with me.

Thanks for stopping

Shelley