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Field Desk - Civil War?


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I picked up this field desk today. Hard to see, but the front of the desk is stenciled - I will have to do some forensic photography to see what is says.

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I picked up this field desk today. Hard to see, but the front of the desk is stenciled - I will have to do some forensic photography to see what is says.

That's a nice looking piece you have there.

 

If at all possible, would you post photo(s) of one of the drawers to show joinery and other detail?

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Looks pretty good to me---take a few minutes and do a Google search and compare the construction, wood, and size with known examples. You just might have something there. Nice find! please keep us posted.

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That's a nice looking piece you have there.

 

If at all possible, would you post photo(s) of one of the drawers to show joinery and other detail?

 

Thanks for the comments. I had to leave the desk in MA because it was too big to fit in the car with all our luggage. I am going to be out-of-commission for a while due to rotator cuff surgery. I will take some pics when I get back to MA.

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Thanks for the comments. I had to leave the desk in MA because it was too big to fit in the car with all our luggage. I am going to be out-of-commission for a while due to rotator cuff surgery. I will take some pics when I get back to MA.

Wonderful.

 

The wood, joinery and construction will distinguish a fake pretty much instantly.

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I'm certainly not an authority on much of anything, but I have a desk that is very similar. The front of my field desk read something like "Medical Dept". Unfortunately, I don't have any pics and the desk is currently in another state. The drawers I think were some sort of dove tail of light wood. I remember the drawers would squeak when pulling them out. My desk is a deep reddish color. I always thought it was from around WWI period.

 

Nice desk and it appears to be in a better condition than the one I own.

 

J.R.

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Thank you for the photo. I'm seeing some surfaces that appear to be artificially aged and, I cannot be certain 100% - but from the images above it looks like the secondary wood (i.e. the wood inside the drawers) is newish, applied to an older looking drawer front. That may be because the sides/bottoms were replaced some time much later than the original chest was made or from some other cause. The nails used make me wonder a little since I would have expected that joinery to be dovetail or some other kind.

 

I'm very interested to learn what someone else may observe because your chest is quite intriguing.

 

I attach here for reference an outright replica officer's field desk. I don't know enough about usage of such furnishings during that war to know whether or not anything like it was ever actually built.

 

Source link:

http://civilwarwoodr...mpFurniture.php

 

Then, here are a couple examples of era drawer joinery, including a finger joint and a typical dovetail which may have been the more likely, aside from an elaborate knapp joint which would seem improbable for average military field furniture.

 

Source link:

http://acn.liveauctioneers.com/index.php/columns-and-international/furniture-specific/7666-furniture-specific-fingers-a-scallops-the-non-dovetailed-drawer

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tbirdismypride

I would have to agree with Bluehawk. The drawers look like they have either been heavily repaired or replaced all together. I also would have expected to see dovetailing on the corners of the drawer instead of the simple construction and nails.

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