The term ‘davenport’ is first noted in the renowned cabinetmaker of Lancaster, Gillows’ Cost Books in the 1790's. Gillows were a prosperous cabinetmaking firm operating from the 1730's to the 1840's. The term appeared in the phrase ‘Captain Davenport, a desk’ next to a design of it. This became one of their most famous inventions.
Some key characteristics of davenports include a gallery around the top, leading on to a sloping lid, most often opening up to reveal a storage space. Some davenports are also fitted with a spring-loaded section to the top and a combination of drawers to the sides (both real and dummy drawers).
Many furniture makers became more inventive with davenport designs over time, with pull out fronts, rotating top sections, and decorative inlaid patterns. They also expanded it from being a contained, rectangular unit, to adding cabriole legs and pedestal bases.
The davenport is quite popular due to their size. Compact, and offering plenty of hidden storage, they are a brilliant alternative for homes that are short on space. The variety of davenports available also show the creativity of Regency cabinetmakers and their successors.
During most of the late Georgian and Victorian eras, the davenport was mainly used by the Lady and would have of a small chest of drawers with a desk on top. The antique davenport desk changed very little in design over the many years it was in production and most antique davenports have four drawers that open at one side and have faux drawer fronts on the opposite side. Above the drawers there is sometimes a pull-out slide to hold papers and some examples have cupboards concealing drawers.
Many antique davenports are fitted with casters at the bottom so they can be moved around easily. The top sections usually have a desk with a sloping lid and a leather writing surface, with a lift up lid. Occasionally they come with a decorative brass gallery at the back. They usually have small drawers for storing writing equipment and ink wells. The best examples have a ‘piano top’ whereby the top looks like the back of a piano but when pushed on, it opens up revealing lots of lovely compartments.
The Victorian davenport desks are usually supported on elaborately scrolled or turned supports that allow a recessed space for more leg room. Mahogany wood was the most popular used in construction, but some very nice examples were made in rosewood or burr walnut and some of the best examples would have stringing inlaid lines of brass or box wood and with decorative brass drawer handles, brass galleries at the back and brass castors. Some Victorian davenports had wood turned galleries or would be fretwork carved and would have turned wood knobs.
I think Captain Davenport had an excellent idea. What do you think?
