School-master's desk c. 1938

Sarah F. Williams made this drawing of a schoolmaster's desk sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It captures a piece of furniture that was central to education, a space where knowledge was both guarded and disseminated. Williams, born in 1855, lived through a time of significant social change, including shifts in gender roles and the expansion of educational opportunities. A schoolmaster's desk represents a convergence of power, gender, and class, embodying the authority of the male educator in a patriarchal society, yet Williams, a woman, is the one who draws it. The desk with its key suggests both knowledge and control, hinting at the complexities of access and authority within the educational system. It offers us a glimpse into the material culture of learning, inviting us to reflect on how the design and function of such objects reflect and shape the educational experiences and power dynamics of the past, and how it reflects societal issues today.