Like his predecessor Barack Obmama, President Donald Trump uses a Resolute desk for his work in the Oval Office at the White House.
( Resolute Desk – Mahogany Partners Desk )
The Resolute desk is a mahogany partners desk – sometimes referred to as the Presidents desk – and naturally at Canonbury Antiques we carry a gorgeous replica of this fine piece of American history.
( The President – at his Presidents Desk )
This double pedestal partners’ desk, usually called the “Resolute desk“, was made from the oak timbers of the British ship H.M.S. Resolute as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes from Queen Victoria in 1880. It has been used by every president since Hayes, excepting Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, 1964-1977. Interesting fact – Franklin Roosevelt requested the addition of a door with the presidential seal to conceal his leg braces.
HMS Resolute was a mid-19th Century ship which was part of the British Royal Navy and was specifically used for Arctic exploration. HMS Resolute became trapped in ice whilst exploring and was abandoned in 1854. The ship was then subsequently recovered by an American whaler and returned to Queen Victoria in England in 1856. Timbers from the ship were then used to construct the first Resolute Desk which was then presented to the President of the United State and was located in the White House Oval Office.
It’s such a great story and the desk can be seen to symbolise the long and enduring relationship between Britain and the United States. Similarly the story of the desks construction and fabrication – that it was rescued from an abandoned ship and then salvaged to be eventually made into the classic Resolute Desk again symbolised the enduring nature of both the desk and the special relationship.
The Resolute Desk – or Presidents desk as it is often referred to – that Canonbury Antiques has is an exact replica of the desk in the White House. It’s made from mahogany and is a true partners desk (ie people can sit either side of the desk) and features a commemorative plaque on the back. Some of the older versions even had a secret compartment for all those top secret documents:
The Resolute Desk can be viewed in the Canonbury Antiques Hertfordshire showroom – which is well located just 25 minutes north of London so please get in touch for an appointment. We can also ship these Resolute Presidents desks to anywhere in the world – including of course the United States – so please also get in touch if you would like a shipping quote.
Aside from the Resolute Desk, other desks used in the White House include the Theodore Roosevelt desk, Hoover desk and Johnson desk – theResolute Desk remains the most popular by far and for good reason – it’s an enduring design classic, comfortable to sit and work at and has a wonderful story behind it.
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