{"product_id":"colonial-revival-kneehole-desk-seven-drawers-with-batwing-brasses-and-bracket-feet-refinished-by-walter-hinchman-in-sedona-red-antique-walnut-and-mahogany-c-1940-1955","title":"Colonial Revival Kneehole Desk, Seven Drawers with Batwing Brasses and Bracket Feet, Refinished by Walter Hinchman in Sedona Red, Antique Walnut and Mahogany, c. 1940–1955","description":"  \u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA small kneehole desk — two pedestals of drawers with an open bay between them — refinished by hand and given a new top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are \u003cstrong\u003eseven drawers\u003c\/strong\u003e: one long shallow drawer running above the knee opening, and \u003cstrong\u003ethree graduated drawers in each pedestal\u003c\/strong\u003e. Every one wears a \u003cstrong\u003epierced batwing brass\u003c\/strong\u003e, the shaped backplate with its swinging bail that is the signature hardware of the Colonial Revival cabinet shop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBetween the drawer tiers run \u003cstrong\u003ereeded pilaster stiles\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the whole case stands on \u003cstrong\u003ebracket feet\u003c\/strong\u003e with shaped cut-out aprons. The top carries a \u003cstrong\u003emoulded edge with shaped front corners\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInside the knee opening, tucked up under the frame, is the desk's \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal printed factory label\u003c\/strong\u003e — \u003cem\u003eCat. No. ____ \/ Finish ____ \/ Inspected By ____\u003c\/em\u003e — torn but still carrying an inspector's handwritten signature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe finish is new and it is the reason to look twice. The top is a \u003cstrong\u003ehand-mixed blend of Sedona Red, Antique Walnut and Mahogany\u003c\/strong\u003e, three stains combined and worked together so the colour moves from warm red through deep brown across the surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe top is not original, and that is stated plainly.\u003c\/strong\u003e The desk came in with its top veneer failed past any hope of repair. It was \u003cstrong\u003esanded off completely\u003c\/strong\u003e, down to the solid stock beneath, and that surface — the desk's own structural wood, never meant to be seen — is what carries the finish now. The sides, pedestals, drawer fronts and feet are the desk's original surfaces, refinished. Restoration by \u003cstrong\u003eWalter Hinchman\u003c\/strong\u003e for \u003cstrong\u003eThe Hinchman Collective\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe three-stain blend is a house recipe, not a can.\u003c\/strong\u003e Sedona Red, Antique Walnut and Mahogany mixed and applied together give a depth that a single stain cannot: the red reads through the open grain, the walnut settles into the figure, and the mahogany ties the two. It is the treatment used on Hinchman Collective pieces where the wood underneath deserves colour rather than concealment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe form is three hundred years old and still the best small desk ever designed.\u003c\/strong\u003e The kneehole desk was \u003cstrong\u003edeveloped in England in the early eighteenth century\u003c\/strong\u003e: as Britannica puts it, the top was \u003cem\u003e“supported by two banks of cupboards, or drawers, separated by a space for the legs of the person seated at the desk”\u003c\/em\u003e. Two towers of storage and a gap to sit in. Scaled up with a second working face it becomes the partners' desk or library table.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe label is the best dating evidence on the piece.\u003c\/strong\u003e A printed slip with blanks for \u003cem\u003ecatalogue number\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003efinish\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003einspected by\u003c\/em\u003e, signed off by hand and pasted inside the case, is American factory practice — the paperwork of a production line where the same carcase was catalogued in several finishes and each piece was signed for before it shipped. It is not the mark of a cabinetmaker; it is the mark of a factory that took quality control seriously enough to name the inspector.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rest agrees. Stamped batwing brasses on pierced backplates, reeded pilaster stiles, bracket feet and a veneered top over solid stock are the standard vocabulary of American Colonial Revival casework, built in very large numbers for the home-office and bedroom trade. The desk carries \u003cstrong\u003eno maker's name\u003c\/strong\u003e — the catalogue number and finish blanks on the label are empty or lost — and it is offered \u003cstrong\u003eunattributed\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDated on the factory inspection label, the stamped hardware and the veneered construction: \u003cstrong\u003ec. 1940–1955\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width:100%; border-collapse:collapse;\"\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eField\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDetail\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eKneehole desk — two drawer pedestals flanking an open knee bay, with a long drawer above\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eSeven drawers (one long over the knee, three graduated in each pedestal), reeded pilaster stiles, moulded top edge with shaped front corners, raised on bracket feet with cut-out aprons\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eHardware\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003ePierced batwing brass backplates with swinging bail handles throughout\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eHardwood and veneered construction. \u003cstrong\u003eThe original top veneer had failed beyond repair and was removed entirely\u003c\/strong\u003e; the top surface is the solid stock beneath it.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eRestoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eRefinished by \u003cstrong\u003eWalter Hinchman\u003c\/strong\u003e for The Hinchman Collective. Top sanded to bare wood and finished in a hand-mixed blend of \u003cem\u003eSedona Red\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eAntique Walnut\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMahogany\u003c\/em\u003e; case refinished to match.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003ePartial printed factory inspection label inside the knee opening — \u003cem\u003eCat. No. \/ Finish \/ Inspected By\u003c\/em\u003e — torn, with the inspector's signature present. No maker's name.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003ec. 1940–1955. Dated on the factory inspection label format, the stamped batwing hardware and the veneered construction; the kneehole form itself is early-eighteenth-century English and carries no date.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eVery good and fully serviceable, freshly refinished. The case is square and solid with no racking, wobble or loose joints; all seven drawers are present, run smoothly and close flush; every brass is present and secure; the bracket feet are sound and it stands level. The new finish is even and fully cured. \u003cstrong\u003eExpect the top to read as solid wood rather than figured veneer\u003c\/strong\u003e — the original veneer is gone by necessity, and the surface shows its own grain, joint lines and a few small marks taken up into the stain. Light handling wear to the lower edges and feet consistent with age. No breaks, no missing elements, no structural repairs. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the desk for a house that does not have a study.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts whole argument is footprint. It is small enough to live in a bedroom, a hallway, a landing, a spare corner or a guest room, and it still gives you a full working surface and seven drawers — which is more storage than most desks four times the price. A laptop, a lamp and a cup fit on top with room to write beside them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt also does other jobs well. With a mirror over it, it becomes a dressing table. Against a wall in an entry it takes keys, post and gloves. In a dining room it works as a small serving console. The knee bay swallows a chair or a stool so it disappears against the wall when it is not in use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe top is the reason to choose this one. Three stains hand-mixed and worked together give a colour that shifts with the light — red coming through in the open grain, brown settling in the figure — and no factory finish and no single can of stain produces it. It is a surface somebody made on purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA note on care, and the first rule is the one that ruins desks. \u003cstrong\u003eUse coasters and a blotter or a mat.\u003c\/strong\u003e A stained and sealed wood top will mark from a wet glass, a hot mug or a plant pot, and a ring in a fresh finish is far harder to fix than a ring in an old one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDust it with a dry or barely damp soft cloth and dry it at once. Wax it once or twice a year with a good paste wax, buffed out thin. \u003cstrong\u003eUse no silicone spray polish\u003c\/strong\u003e, which builds a haze on a hand-finished top and makes any future repair difficult, and no ammonia, bleach or all-purpose cleaner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeep it out of direct sunlight and away from a radiator or heat vent, both of which will lift and fade a finish over a season. Lift it rather than dragging it — bracket feet take the whole weight at four corners — and put felt pads underneath if it sits on a hard floor.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48041037267049,"sku":"VE-0705","price":650.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/IMG_2057.jpg?v=1789131006","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/colonial-revival-kneehole-desk-seven-drawers-with-batwing-brasses-and-bracket-feet-refinished-by-walter-hinchman-in-sedona-red-antique-walnut-and-mahogany-c-1940-1955","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}