Tambour Traveling Lap Desk

Whereas the Tea Caddy and the Sewing Box can be said to be accurate reflections of the stylistic and cultural influences of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Writing Box, or Lap Desk, epitomizes the social and economic developments of this particular period.

Portable boxes for writing materials had existed for many centuries and in many cultures. However it was not until the last decades of the 18th century that the socio-economic circumstances in England necessitated the wide use of a portable desk in the form of a box which could be used on a table or on one's lap. Hence "Lap Desk".

Although quality, ornament and form did play an important part in its selection as a personal item, it is the purpose for which it was used which gave prominence to the writing box, at a time of expanding intellectual curiosity, communication, literacy and increased commercial activity. The writing box was an item of style and fashion yes, but it was also an item connected with intelligence, commerce and world awareness.

From the end of the 18th, to the end of the 19th century, the writing box featured prominently on military expeditions, travels, libraries and in drawing rooms. Great literature as well as dispatches, contracts, letters and postcards were written on its sloping surface. Through it both business and personal activity were transacted. Unlike the writing desk or table it was a personal and not a household possession.