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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.
As an antique the lap desk is a smaller variant of the writing slope. It is also called a writing box or a writing cabinet. In certain instances it is known as a portable desk, 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.
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 and a pencil. 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. 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.
Most modern lap desks are considered specialty items and very few furniture 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.
Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating, eating (tables), storing items, working, and sleeping. Furniture is also used to hold objects at a convenient height for work, or to store things. Furniture can be a product of design and can be considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. It can be made from a vast multitude of materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflects the local culture.
A clipboard is a thin, rigid board with a clip at the top for holding paper in place. A clipboard is typically used to support paper with one hand while writing on it with the other, especially when other writing surfaces are not available. The earliest forms were patented in 1870–1871 and referred to as board clips. Another early version of the clipboard, known as the "memorandum file", was invented by American inventor George Henry Hohnsbeen in 1921, for which he was granted U.S. Patent 1,398,591. Related to the clipboard is the Shannon Arch File, which was developed around 1877.
A desk or bureau is a piece of furniture with a flat table-style work surface used in a school, office, home or the like for academic, professional or domestic activities such as reading, writing, or using equipment such as a computer. Desks often have one or more drawers, compartments, or pigeonholes to store items such as office supplies and papers. Desks are usually made of wood or metal, although materials such as glass are sometimes seen.
A secretary desk or escritoire is made of a base of wide drawers topped by a desk with a hinged desktop surface, which is in turn topped by a bookcase usually closed with a pair of doors, often made of glass. The whole is usually a single, tall and heavy piece of furniture.
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.
A Davenport desk, is a small desk with an inclined lifting desktop attached with hinges to the back of the body. Lifting the desktop accesses a large compartment with storage space for paper and other writing implements, and smaller spaces in the forms of small drawers and pigeonholes. The Davenport has drawers on one of its sides, which are sometimes concealed by a panel. This stack of side drawers holds up the back of the desk and most of its weight.
In cabinetry, the bargueño is a form of portable desk, made up of two chests, the bottom one usually having drawers and the top one having a hinged desk surface which also serves as a side-mounted lid. It is basically a chest or box with one of the side panels, rather than the top panel, serving as a fold-out writing surface. The interior of the desk is equipped with small drawers, pigeonholes, etc., for storing papers and supplies. The bargueño has also been used for sewing or as a jewel chest.
A spinet desk is an antique desk with an exterior shape similar to a writing table, but slightly higher and is fitted with a single drawer under the whole length of the flat top surface. The spinet desk is so named because when closed it resembles a spinet, a musical instrument of the harpsichord family.
A field desk is a portable desk which is meant to be used in rear areas near a battlefield and moved around rather frequently in difficult conditions. It is in contrast to the campaign desk, which is usually heavier and meant for areas further in the rear.
A games table desk is an antique desk form which has a writing surface etched or veneered in the pattern of a given board game. It also provides sufficient storage space for writing implements and a separate space for storing game accessories such as counters. It is often called a "games table" or game table, which leads to confusion with pieces of furniture which are built specifically for gaming only, with no intention or provision for use as a desk.
The computer desk and related ergonomic desk are furniture pieces designed to comfortably and aesthetically provide a working surface and house or conceal office equipment including computers, peripherals and cabling for office and home-office users.
The desk on a frame is usually an antique form made up of two pieces of furniture. The first piece is a fairly large and closable portable desk with a slanted hinged top giving access to the writing surface and utility nooks and small drawers. The second piece is a stand made for it in the same style and material. It is also sometimes a single piece of furniture which looks as if it were made up of the two previous pieces but is in fact solid and nondetachable. This form was popular in Colonial America and was often done in the Queen Anne style.
The writing armchair has an antique and a modern form. In its antique form it is known as a writing armchair in the United States and as a tablet armchair in the United Kingdom. It is more often than not a Windsor style armchair with a circular or oval pad or tablet replacing the right arm or mounted above it. Many versions have a drawer built under the pad, to hold writing implements. Other versions have such a drawer under the seat.
A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax.
A chest is a form of furniture typically of a rectangular structure with four walls and a removable or hinged lid, used for storage, usually of personal items. The interior space may be subdivided.
A briefcase is a narrow hard-sided box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to a court, hence the name. Businesspeople and other white collar professionals also use briefcases to carry papers, and since the 1980s, electronic devices such as laptop computers and tablet computers. Some briefcases have only a main internal space, while others may have subsections, accordion sections, small pockets, or dividers. Briefcases may be made from leather, vinyl, durable fabric, thin metal, or plastic. Leather, vinyl, or fabric briefcases may have externally-accessible pockets or sleeves in addition to the main storage space. Some briefcases made of fabric may have a shoulder strap. Briefcases typically have a lock to protect the contents. Nowadays, briefcases may have padded internal pouches to protect laptop computers.
A laptop/notebook cooler, cooling pad, cooler pad or chill mat is an accessory for laptop computers intended to reduce their operating temperature when the laptop is unable to sufficiently cool itself. Laptop coolers are intended to protect both the laptop from overheating and the user from suffering heat related discomfort. A cooling pad may house active or passive cooling methods and rests beneath the laptop. Active coolers move air or liquid to direct heat away from the laptop quickly, while passive methods may rely on thermally conductive materials or increasing passive airflow.
Campaign furniture is a type of furniture which is made for travel. Historically, much of it was made for military campaigns.
A desk is a piece of furniture intended for writing on, hence writing desk is redundant. It is usually found in an office or study.
A multifunctional furniture is a furniture with several functions combined. The functions combined may vary, but a common variant is to incorporate an extra storage function into chair, tables, and so forth, making them so-called storage furniture. Multifunctional furniture can accommodate more efficient use of living spaces. Lack of space can be an important reason for choosing such furniture, but combination furniture is also seen in larger homes for more space-efficient utilization. Historically, furniture with transforming mechanisms was called "mechanical furniture".