It's a lovely federal style mahogany desk. But I believe a reproduction....but a 100 year old reproduction. The Paine Furniture company of Boston made very nice, exacting reproductions of furniture of a hundred years earlier. They were making colonial reproductions in the late 19th century. However any example I can find of the label is a brass plate not inlaid wood. I think that your desk probably did have a top part....it likely would have cubby holes and have been about 8 inches deep and about 12 to 14 inches tall. So.... I believe what you have is and antique, antique reproduction!! Linda C

Thank you all for responding! I emailed a professional and he gave me some history on it. Very interesting. He said it is definitely from 1900-1920's. It is a Spinet desk and more decorative than most. There used to be a lid which is now missing. =( My dad said he let my uncle borrow the desk and upon it's return the lid was gone. He is still mad about it. Now that I am researching them, it appears that was one of major appeals to the desk. The history of these desks is that in the late 1800's Spinet used to make pianos and when the piano stopped working, people converted these into desks. So during the depression era the appeal was strong and desks were made. I do not think I am going to paint it now since I have learned the history. The professional I spoke with told me it will be a big task refinishing this desk. He gave me tips on how to do it myself. I am a bit concerned but I think I may give it a try. I do not have the funds to hire a professional since the cost of this restore would run between 400-1200 dollars! He told me fully restored the desk is valued around 450. As is, 50 - 100 dollars. After so many years it is cool to find out the history of this piece.

Sylviatexas, yes, I have eaten mock apple pie that a friend's mother made for an after school treat when I went home with her after school one day about 1955. I had never had it, and if I had not been told, I would have thought it was a slice of apple pie. The Ritz crackers are halved, and the only thing that gives it away is that the edges of the "apples" are scalloped or look like they have been peeled with pinking shears. That was an interesting visit. When my friend introduced me to her mother, her mom gasped and asked if I was Jack ____'s daughter. I replied that I was, and she proceeded to tell me how he was so handsome and she had had a crush on him in their single days. At dinner that night I related this mom's report of my dad. He was tickled to hear that a girl he did not remember from his past remembered him. I have seen pictures of my dad from back then, and he looked like a slender Bert Lancaster.

Pull the wide middle drawer open ( the one between the left and right stacks ). You should then be able to open the side drawers. If you notice, the middle one is the only drawer with a lock. This way, when you close and lock the big middle drawer, it also locks both side drawer stacks. If this doesn't work, then something jammed when the top was put on. Remove the top, check for a mechanism that may be bent etc.. I would not think that the middle drawer would have to be open in order to open the side drawers, but it would have to be unlocked.