Front and Side Views of Writing Desk 1841 - 1884

This is an undated drawing of a writing desk by Charles Hindley and Sons, a London-based cabinet-making firm. This design emerged during a period of significant social change, as industrialization and colonialism shaped both British identity and its global influence. The desk embodies the Victorian era's complex relationship with gender and class. As a functional object, it speaks to the era’s growing emphasis on literacy and domesticity, and the gendered division of labor. Consider the desk as a site for both business and personal correspondence; it reflects how writing was a key tool for maintaining social hierarchies and personal connections. The desk symbolizes the power of communication and record-keeping during an era marked by immense social and technological transformations. It invites us to consider the intimate lives and social structures of the desk’s intended users. What stories were written at this desk? And how did these narratives shape, and were shaped by, the cultural norms of the time?