An ultra rare “Chair Desk” from the Larkin Administration Building has surfaced, and is for sale on Ebay for $100,000. This unique piece of office furniture was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, as an office fixture within the building. The pine desk top appears to be a variation from the original, which would have been been made out of fire proof magnesite. The iron work on the piece was fabricated at Van Dorn Iron Works of Cleveland Ohio – images of all of the original stamps are provided.
The seller of the “Chair Desk” states that he discovered the item in Buffalo. The “estate find” was apparently long buried away from prying eyes. He states that he toiled greatly to unearth the prized possession, and has been its guardian ever since the discovery.
As most architecture buffs are aware, the Administration Building was demolished. I was speaking to an antique enthusiast just the other day who is in possession of another type of desk from the same building, which he showed me. He told me that very few pieces of furniture made it out of the building intact at the time. He said that almost all of the desks and chairs were loaded into dumpsters and hauled away to the dump. Rumor has it that the demoed building materials were used as fill for the land that we now know as Father Conway Park in the Old First Ward.
Type: Chair Desk Region of Origin: America
Color: Brown
Original/Reproduction: Original
Maker: Van Dorn Iron Works Cleveland Ohio USA Material: Iron and steel
Age: 1900-1950