An Important Renaissance Revival Ebonized, Gilt-Incised Walnut and Burled Extra-Grade Rotary Desk, the Wooten Desk Manufacturing Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, circa 1876

With pedimented cylinder top, finely fitted satinwood interior, tooled leather writing surface on hinged fitted pedestal cabinets. Stenciled on the bottom of drawer T. G. Sellew III Fulton St., N.Y.

Richard and Eileen Dubrow, New York.

Indianapolis, Indiana, Indiana State Museum and Oakland, California, Oakland Museum, Wooton Patent Desks: A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place Indianapolis, 1983, pl. 12.

Eileen and Richard Dubrow, American Furniture of the 19th Century: 1840-1880, (Exton, Pennsylvania: Schiffer, 1983), back cover.

In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Beginning in 1874, William Wooten began manufacturing these innovative desks with civil servants in mind. However bankers, lawyers and captains of industry soon found them indispensable. Boasting one hundred and ten compartments, they came in four grades: ordinary, standard, extra, and superior. Rotoray desk came in two grades: standard and extra.  Used by dignitaries such as Smithsonian Director Spencer Baird, philanthropist Joseph Pulitzer, and railroad magnate Jay Gould, the desks were praised by London dealers, Richards Terry and Co., "Nothing in its line can exceed it in usefulness or beauty, and purchasers everywhere express themselves delighted with its manifold conveniences."