Lady's Wooton Desk, ca. 1885
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GUEST:
Well, this is a Wooton desk that I think was made sometime in the late 1880s. It came into our family sometime in the 1930s. And I think at one point, it was refinished somewhere in Minneapolis, and then it's been in my family ever since.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Do you know who the original owner is and what he did?
GUEST:
I don't know from the 1880s to about 1930. We couldn't track it down, we tried.
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, this is a very recognizable model. It's a Wooton model desk. It was patented by William Wooton and manufactured in Indianapolis. They claimed fame in the 1876 Centennial exhibition, and it was a desk that was for titans of industry: bankers and industrialists and robber barons of the era. There's something about this desk, though, that stands out to me. Do you know what that is?
GUEST:
Well, there's a secret compartment.
APPRAISER:
Okay, and I want you to show that to us, but--
GUEST:
I will.
APPRAISER:
But more specifically, they made four different versions of this desk. They made an ordinary version, a standard grade, an extra grade, and a superior grade. This is the ordinary version. So the least elaborate example of the four.
GUEST:
Right. And I think there used to be some finials up here, too, didn't there?
APPRAISER:
There was. But they also made three sizes, and what makes this special is its diminutive size. This measures 36 inches wide, and it was referred to as a lady's Wooton. So when you think of industry and you think of captains of industry, how many times do you think of the ladies, females in that role in the 19th century? And that's what makes things rare. So, sometimes rare is good for value, and sometimes it's not so good for value. In this case, it's good for value.
GUEST:
Good.
APPRAISER:
This is the letter drawer, and here we have the patented mark by… by Wooton that identifies it as a Wooton. And when we open it up, we see how it functions. We can notice all of these compartments. There was a place for everything, and everything had its place. These originally would have had small… like, cardboard drawers that would pull in and out, and that would be filing checks and paperwork. And at this time in America, we're – we’re starting a paper trail. Prior to that, we would just work out of one ledger. Now there's typewriters and so much to store…
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
…That we want to make it neat and tidy for everybody, and this was the way that Wooten designed this, and that's what gained him fame. Now, you mentioned there was a secret door. Could you show our guests?
GUEST:
Right here. So when the doors are closed, it's locked down.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. Well, he was an innovative designer, William S. Wooton.
GUEST:
Yeah, it's pretty neat.
APPRAISER:
The Wooton desk was primarily manufactured in walnut, and if we see here, this is a burl walnut panel. 15 years ago, they were commanding more money and were more collectors for them than there are today. At auction, we put a conservative estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. But if we were going to insure it,
it is not an easy thing to replace, this size. I've only been able to locate about four in this size, and they can be priced and have sold for a lot more than the $4,000 to $6,000.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So this would be something that we would try to generate interest with a $4,000 to $6,000 estimate, but really it would be the market that would tell us what it's ultimately worth because one hasn't sold in a long time.
GUEST:
Okay, appreciate it.
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