Every Man Should Have a Roll-Top Desk

Metallicman ^ | 16DEC18 | Editorial staff

[vannrox]

Here I would like to discuss a long standing dream that I have had since I was a small boy; the possession of a large roll-top desk complete with a multitude of tiny drawers, chubby-holes, and spaces for all my personal junk and treasures. I have had this dream for a long… long… long time. With that in mind, let’s discuss this work of art; this magnificent idea and concept of the roll-top desk.

During the last century, the idea of a Roll-Top desk was appealing and very popular all over America. Many American homes had these styles of desks and throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s they faded into obscurity. There was a brief revival of Roll-Top desks in the 1980’s and then they have been forgotten as overly expensive and extravagant items of furniture. This is unfortunate, because every man should have a Roll-Top desk.



The first time that I encountered a roll-top desk was a very long time ago. One of my friends had inherited it from his father. It was in his bedroom and he would work on his various projects at the desk. He had this kind of glue with a rubber top that you could use to spread glue on paper and make scrap books with .

He also had a punching bag in his basement and me and him would try boxing at such an early age. Heck! We were only in second grade, for goodness sakes. It was kinda goofy at the time, but our fathers both thought that boxing was something that all boys had to learn.

What is a Roll-Top Desk?

A roll-top desk is a large

[Brother Cracker]

[RoosterRedux]

I inherited one from my father. It's an antique but I know nothing about it.

It has decks on each side for oil lamps or lanterns.

[wally_bert]

There is one buried in the old unheated warehouse with a leaking roof.

It will get dug out one day. Doubt it’s in any decent shape.

[Artie]

I had one once. Lost it in a divorce. Made by Riverside Furniture. Oak and very heavy. Had lots of nooks and crannies, even some hidden compartments.

[dangus]

I’m pretty sure the PC killed the rolltop desk once and for all. By the late 1980s, they were still popular for people’s personal offices. But you couldn’t put a computer on one, and by the time laptops replaced towers in the office, we became such a paperless society, who needed one?

Again: they were for people who had so much paperwork that it was impractical to put it away.

[alfa6]

BTTT

[ArtDodger]

I bought one at Costco 20 years ago. Some of the cubby holes were omitted to allow a space for a computer screen and one side of drawers were taken out to make room for the CPU.
The article uses ‘chubby’ instead of cubby. Have never seen chubby as an alternative spelling..

[metesky]

chubby-holes???

me and him???

Illiterate

[Yo-Yo]

When I read ‘chubby hole,’ something else came to mind that is not appropriate for a Sunday morning.

[wally_bert]

I’d like a truly functional desk like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrPwEuv1unA

[Daffynition]

The roll top desk went the *way* of Hossier cabinets, and oak ice boxes. Practical furniture that makes a statement. Built to last.

[ArtDodger]

Same here... Later in the article, there are several other spelling and grammatical errors. ‘Me and him liked boxing’ or the like. An editor or at least a second opinion is always helpful when writing.

[NautiNurse]

Girls like rolltop desks too...

I have a rolltop desk circa 1996. A massive piece, it was made for a computer, with the lower left cabinet designed to hold an upright desktop computer box. Strategic holes for cords and cables. It is a stunning piece of furniture. The rolltop itself is a thing of beauty.

I understand the manufacturer discontinued the desk after a short run because the desk is too large to fit through most interior doorways.

[Will88]

Have one now which I purchased new in the late 1970s, made by the National Mt. Airy furniture company in Mt. Airy, NC. Couldn’t use it as a computer desk during the years of big, heavy CRT monitors, but it has been my computer desk since I got my first flat panel monitor.

It’s a full size roll top, but has more slots than small drawers which I think is more practical these days. Like most furniture manufacturers in the US, National Mt. Airy is no longer there. It burned down sometime in the 1980s and was not rebuilt.

[skr]

The closest we got to a rolltop desk was a rolltop breadbox.

[9YearLurker]

That sounds like something in the men’s room between exits 16 and 17 on the interstate.

But he does spell it correctly in his illustration of features, so I take it as a typo.

Still, does that explain the rationale that every man should have one, when the historical picture shown has a woman seated at it?

[bramps]

It’s where they hid Earl Williams in His Gal Friday.

[Hardastarboard]

Been there, did that. Not gonna do it again. No usable space to speak of. No thanks.

[cyclotic]

I don’t think I’d want a roll-top, but I think it’s time for a proper desk. I started working from home and the road a couple years ago. My desk is a $38 folding table from Wal-Mart, no drawers so it’s covered with stuff