30 
House & Garden 
{Left) The desk is set on the table 
of the stand and the yellow taffeta 
screen draws up. Thus the piece 
answers three purposes—as a desk, 
and as a table or “meubled ap- 
tmi,” and finally as a screen to 
ep the fire glow from the face 
Below) Opened, the commode 
becomes a writing desk. The 
front of the upper drawer lets 
down, giving a shelf. The inside 
contains three small drawers, the 
three lower ones being merely 
blinds to balance the design 
Harting 
(Right) This fairly innocent look¬ 
ing piece of furniture, slightly re¬ 
miniscent of the old-fashioned 
washstand, is, in reality, a lady’s 
writing desk of the period of 
Louis XVI. The back screen is 
covered with yellow taffeta 
(Below) This Louis XVI com¬ 
mode bureau when closed forms 
a decorative contribution to a 
room. It is of mahogany and has 
gilt bronze handles and rings and 
a gray marble top with a gilt 
bronze gallery 
(Left) Among the devices used 
by French cabinetmakers was to 
impose one piece of furniture on 
another. This small satinwood 
table of the Louis XVI period cm 
be used as a stand. It has a mar¬ 
ble top and bronze handles 
(Right) With the desk set on the 
table we have an ecritoire which 
boasts, among other delightfid 
charms, a secret compartment. 
This and the other examples of 
French furniture are shown by 
courtesy of Diane del Monte 
