English secretary desk "Druce & Co". Late 19th century

English furniture from the late 19th century. Made of mahogany feather veneer, entirely inlaid with maple. Lower body with four drawers and another one on top. The upper section features four drawers surmounted by five arches supported by ebonized columns with gilded bronze capitals and a mirrored back decorated with sandblasted figures. Original locks, ornaments, and keys. It bears the Druce & Co. plaque on the back. Druce & Co. Ltd. was a large furniture store located at the corner of Baker Street and Blandford Street in the west end of London. The store was also informally known as the "Baker Street Bazaar," the site originally being home to a horse bazaar that expanded to include carts and other goods in the 1830s. The furniture store was founded in 1850 by a secondhand furniture dealer named Thomas Charles Druce. Druce died in 1864, and his son Herbert took over the business until 1913. Dimensions: cm h 168 x 108 x 51.