Wood Craftsman Vintage Antique Chicago 1920s Industrial Drafting Table Desk
Item History & Price
Pardon our dust! You are looking at a diamond-in-the-rough: a Drafting table that was owned by an engineer at Western Electric, Kearny, New Jersey. We know that its owner was born in 1899, and worked at the company's Chicago location before relocating to the Kearny, NJ plant in 1929. That year he bought a house in Westfield, NJ and the table has been here ever since. We are most certain that the table came with him from Chicago, as did his other important work furniture that is still i...n the home. (Some of the pieces have serial numbers on them!) Parts of the desk appear factory-made yet customized for the owner? The table measures 54" wide x 36" deep x 41" high. I write that this is Craftsman style, although at the tail end of the period as is the house it lives in, but being from Chicago it might be more appropriate to call it "Prairie School/Style." We have not moved the table from its basement location. We tore the paper off the top and gently wiped the table off with a water dampened sponge. There is a very pleasant almost amber-like aroma that comes from the table top; is it cedar? The grain in the wood is apparent, along with the push pin holes, and appears to be 2 pieces of wood joined. The desk as a whole appears to be made of several different kinds of wood, and was at least partly stained. The table had a vice screwed onto the surface which was recently removed. Grandpa nailed legs onto the bottom of the drawing board to keep it horizontal, but they can be easily taken off. He also used it as a work bench, for other projects. The basement has had its share of dampness during a few major regional floods, the legs evidently had ferrous metal shoes at the feet, but they have rusted away. We moved it away from the wall today and it is not as heavy as we were afraid it might be! It was suggested to us that it was assembled inside on the premises and might require disassembly in order to get it up a short flight of stairs and out the side basement door. The top is attached by a large bolt and is removable. You Tetris masters can maybe can figure this out: The door opening measures 27 7/8" with the door on; 28 7/8 with the door off. If this isn't enough room, there is a much wider front door up a short flight of stairs and through kitchen, dining room, and living room, (that's what a dolly is for.) Please bring your own tools and a helper to carry this out. There are 2 drawers, one locks and has its original key. There are 2 shelves underneath to hold paper. The top tips to about 45 degrees in both directions. We have not seen the back of it at this writing. Also we have the chair that Grandpa used at the table, we don't think it is an exact match, but it is a Heywood Wakefield high chair that rotates. It has the serial number that would have identified his personal furniture in Chicago. Someone remembers it being used as a high chair for feeding the baby... Really? It was during the Great Depression so maybe they did... It evidently was repaired... but the chair is not included in the sale of the drafting table in this ebay listing. We can not ship this ourselves, if you can not come in person and pick it up, you will have to arrange for pickup and shipping immediately after your purchase. We have found that there are a few different ways to go about this, as we have sold some pieces of furniture before. BUT The drafting table must be out of the home no later than July 15. We can't accept returns on this, so you have to be committed to your purchase and honor it immediately with payment. You can come and look at it in person before you bid. We can recommend local help for hire and if you need we have a favorite local storage facility. I do not live at the house and have to arrange access. The feet did not appear rotted. See photos please. I am not an expert woodworker but I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.
