Partners desk

Model of the Resolute desk in the recreated Oval Office at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.

A partners desk is an antique desk form which is basically two pedestal desks constructed from the start as one large desk joined at the front, for two users working while facing each other. The spelling of the term is irregular, with partner's desk and partners' desk being common variants.

This massive piece of furniture was first conceived in the United Kingdom to accommodate the work of banking partners. These gentlemen were usually senior bank officials who wished to do teamwork while keeping the convenience and the prestige of a pedestal desk.

It was an adaptation of the earlier and sometimes more massive library desk, found in the libraries of the mansions of the gentry and the nobility.

Most partners desks made in the 19th century were built of high quality woods such as oak, mahogany or walnut and finished with tooled leather inserts on top and brass fittings all around. Many reproductions have been made in the 20th century.

This type of desk is also known as a double desk.

See also

• List of desk forms and types
• Resolute Desk, a specific partners desk used by US presidents

References

• Gloag, John; and Clive Edwards (1991). A Complete Dictionary of Furniture (rev. ed. ed.). Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-414-0.