November 23, 2020

I am pleased to announce that my two months-long hunt for a desk is over.

When I moved to Pennsylvania at the beginning of September after my job fell apart (thank you, COVID), my main goal was to find a piece that would make the townhouse I share with my fiance feel more like home. I wanted one that had, above all else, character — something that did not resemble the traditional rectangular pedestal sort.

And it was important to me that whatever piece I found felt right. I am a journalist by trade and since March had not worked at a physical desk. The pandemic forced the world to be productive from home and because at the time I had one made of particle board from Target that mainly served as a dumping ground for assorted papers, I worked from either our kitchen table or couch. (Before you judge me, we own this one from Sam’s Club that features two cup holders, two USB charging ports, two regular outlets and a leg rest. It is very comfortable.)

I scoured Facebook Marketplace for months, finding a decent amount of other (I maintain) necessary items to decorate and organize our home. My fiance began teasing me that I should start selling things to make room for all the pieces I was buying (none of which were desks, but did include two wine racks, three lamps, a kitchen cart, a chess set and a new dresser).

And then I came across this beauty for an unbeatable price. Coincidentally enough, I saw a posting for this desk a few weeks prior. It was being sold by a woman who initially listed it for $120, then dropped the price to $85. When I messaged her to inquire whether that price had any wiggle room, she very directly told me off.

Ashlyn and her boyfriend purchased this piece from the first lady for an undisclosed price, and the two had every intention to sand it down and restain it. According to the boyfriend (who kindly loaded this into my trunk), they then got wrapped up in other, more pressing things and so decided to relist it for a more reasonable price, given the work that needed to be done.

Heman’s bones are wonderful. He is made completely of pine, with the exception of the backing board behind the pigeon holes. But he clearly experienced some use and jostling: there are scratches all over the work surface, storage areas and legs; gouges and odd-looking pock marks on his sides and legs; splintering along the front and back of his legs; some splitting on his left foot; and slight shaking where the desk meets the legs.

All of these photos are from Ashlyn’s listing, but do not show the extent of the damage I mentioned.

With the flap up, you can see some of the damage under the door. The inside is near-spotless, which is excellent because that would be a difficult area to strip. An orbital sander is too large to fit, so I would be forced to do this by hand.

One thing you may have noticed almost immediately from these photos, as I did, are the knobs. Not only do they not fit the desk’s character or general vibe, but why choose a knob for the storage flap when a handle would have been more practical? My suspicion is the knobs were added, both for those reasons and because they do not at all match the hinges. 

What’s in a name

At this point, you may be wondering why I keep referring to the desk as Heman. Here is the (ongoing) saga of my research into this piece’s manufacturer, its original design, how I can best honor both and, of course, the name I chose for the desk.

1. Thus far in my casual perusal of Facebook Marketplace looking for more pieces for my home (don’t tell my fiance) and to restore/resell, I came across two listings for this exact desk. 

And this posting popped up today. It more closely resembles mine, but with different knobs (which is making me question what sort of hardware would compliment this piece). Again, I messaged the seller, who said he was not aware of markings on the one he is selling, but would get back to me if he found anything.

2. Then I came across this old auction on Everything But The House. The desk is clearly larger — while it also has two-tiered work areas with a left-side flap storage, there are three small drawers under the top surface surrounded by three more narrow pigeon holes as well as three drawers under the main work surface. It is also pine wood, stained a very similar (if not the same) color and both are constructed as trestle desks. They even share the same hardware, though this piece has what looks to be a more stable hinge attaching the flap to the desk and a ribbon so the flap does not slam against the top surface.

It is from this website that I got a hunch my Heman desk is from Ethan Allen. The two pieces look remarkably similar. 

Poking around other furniture auction sites brought up this end table on Chairish — it has the same wood species, same stain, same knobs and same general style. It is defined as coming from Ethan Allen’s Old Tavern series, dating back to the 1970s.

Also interesting about this listing: The description mentions it has a “distressed factory finish (intentional dents and dings).” Perhaps this means some of Heman’s marks are intentional. 

And so its name is Heman

Based on my research, I decided to bestow upon my desk a name related to the Ethan Allen company. The folks over at Vintage Furniture Guide put together great information about its history:

     Two brothers-in-law, Nathan C. Ancel and Theodore Baumritter, saw opportunity as Beecher Falls Furniture Company faced bankruptcy in the 1930’s. The pair loved the hearty maple and pine furniture that the Beecher Falls produced, but they thought the name, and styles, might need a makeover.
     So, they set forth in changing the name to the Vermont Revolutionary War Hero name, Ethan Allen. And they attempted to reposition themselves as a reproduction company. Ethan Allen Furniture went forward making colonial adaptations that proved popular all across the country.

Allen had two sisters — Lydia and Lucy — and five brothers — Heman, Heber, Levi, Zimri, and Ira. I simply chose the name that seemed to best fit my desk.    

*Update*

I reached out to Ethan Allen through its website, to confirm whether my desk is in fact one of the company’s creations by perhaps cross-referencing the photo I sent with its back catalogues. Here is what a customer service representative sent back:   

Given I have yet to find any markings on Heman, it seems the piece might be a clever recreation based on the design of that larger desk I mentioned at step 2.

Please let me know in the comments if you have any clues that will help identify Heman, ideas about what hardware would look best, products I should try out or anything else!