The lap desk is a desk set in the lap. In the European tradition, it can be considered a modern form of the

portable desk {{unreferenced, date=January 2008 The portable desk had many forms and is an ancestor of the portable computer, the modern laptop an atavistic grandchild of the 19th-century lap desk. Medieval era and Renaissance All desks were portable to some ...

Antique lap desk

As an antique the lap desk is a smaller variant of the

writing slope Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute ...

. It is also called a writing box or a writing cabinet. In certain instances it is known as a

, a term which is usually applied to larger forms. Most antique lap desks are meant to be used on a table or some other stable surface. They are often strongly built of fine hardwoods like mahogany or walnut. Antique lap desks had hinged writing surfaces, often covered in leather, felt, or other material, that flip up to reveal storage space for papers. Individual compartments were designed to hold inkwells, pens, sealing wax, and other contemporary writing materials. Some desks also had concealed storage compartments.

Modern lap desk

As a modern form the lap desk is meant primarily for use in bed and other similar circumstances, it is also known as a bed desk. There are a wide variety of forms available, but as a rule it is much smaller and simpler than the antique lap desk, having at the most a small drawer or holding area for a

ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". ...

and a

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...

. It is also made of much cheaper materials, save for a few craft productions. Certain lap desks have a removable monopod, which makes them collapsible cousins to the

lectern desk The lectern desk exists in two distinct forms, antique and modern. Antique lectern desk The antique is basically a lectern fitted with the conveniences needed to make writing easy, such as room for paper and writing implements. In a sense, it is ...

. Others have two short collapsible legs, so that they can be used both in bed and on a lap, when the legs are folded. Finally, some come with a built-in battery powered lamp, continuing the tradition of those antique lap desks and writing slopes which had swinging or hinged brass candle holders built in. Some new lap desks now have a built-in

cup holder A cup holder is a device, such as a zarf, to hold a cup or other drinking vessel. It may be free standing to hold cups securely on a desk or other flat surface, or in a tree style to store sets of cups in kitchens. They may be built into automob ...

. Most modern lap desks are considered specialty items and very few

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

dealers keep them in stock. They are present, however, in a large number of catalogs and on some commercial Web sites. There are also lap desks made for laptop computers. These desks were designed not only to raise the laptops from their surrounding environments (such as beds), but they were also designed to provide extra clearances to provide adequate air circulation to the laptops. Some of them are also equipped with extra fans to increase air circulation.

References

*Charron, Andy. ''Desks: Outstanding Projects from America's Best Craftsmen''. Taunton press, 2000. pp. 20-33. *Considine, Brian. ''Shaker Lap Desk: A challenging exercise in hand dovetailing''. Fine Woodworking. No. 2. Spring 1976 pp. 48-49. *Mehler, Kelly. ''Walnut Lap Desk: Cutting corners with finger joints''. Fine Woodworking. No. 69. spring 1976. March-April 1988. pp. 54-57. *Schleining, Lon. ''Thomas Jefferson's Writing Desk''. Fine Woodworking. No. 144. September-October 2000. pp. 64-71. Desks Furniture Antiques

Antique lap desk

Modern lap desk

See also

References