A Blast from the Past: The Rise and Fall of Secretary Desks

With the popularity of personal computers, a secretary desk is a rarity today. This piece of furniture was the “PC” of the past. It usually has three parts: a stack of drawers, a bookshelf, and a retractable desktop surface. Currently, personal computers with productivity software have taken over.

This desk is the offspring of writing desks and “secretaries.” Writing desks, commonly called the office table, have been an indispensable element of the workspace since time immemorial. On the other hand, secretaries are desks that trap everything in and keep everything out. With hinged covers, paperwork will not get blown away by wind and the confidentiality of its contents is protected. These are seen in home settings where there are children, or in areas of an office for semi-classified documents.

After the emergence of the corporation and the formation of an unprecedented number of small and medium enterprises, the competition for office space escalated. Hence, a new “invention” had to replace them.

Welcome to the astonishing world of Secretary Desks! This invention has combined the features of the writing desk, the Secretary, and the bookshelf as an added bonus! Being the all-in-one furniture, this desk rose in popularity as it can do the functions of all three but occupy only a small fraction of the space. This was the perfect answer for the scarcity of office space, which started to pose a big problem in those days.

However, man has an incessant drive to innovate. After several decades, the personal computer was born. With more features than its organic ancestor, the personal computer has now become the weapon of choice. Taking even less space and capable of doing much more diverse tasks, this device has taken over the reins which were momentarily held by the secretary desk.

Today, the number of these “wonder furniture” has greatly diminished. Nevertheless, those with a taste of the rustic, the old school, still own this. After all, it is all about the pervading nostalgia for those good old times, something that its modern rival is unable to bring about.