For OP, I would call that a chifferobe. Many different spellings.

For the pic by the 1st comment, I would call that a secretary desk.

Thanks gardener,I googled that spelling and found several examples ( two very close to mom's). Now I can tell folks what I'm searching for. Wasn't a chifferobe what Tom Robinson was hired to bust up in the ladie's fromt yard?

Darned if I know. Who is Tom Robinson and why was he hired to bust up a chifferobe?

LOL,do you mean to say you never had to do a book report on that old classic? Tom was the man Atticuss Finch defended in To Kill A Mockingbird. Had I not been so lazy at the time I would have found out what a chifferobe was when I read about it xx (ha ha) years ago.

More commonly called a wardrobe or armoire.

To klem1: I read probably a good 500 books a year but I have never read To Kill a Mockingbird! I looked it up and it was published in 1960 and I was in high school then so possibly it had not become school reading at that time. Maybe it is about time.

To Lori Armstrong: I would agree with that term now but back in the day (early to mid 1900's) they were chifferobes and in my antiquing days (late '70's to mid '80's) they were considered to be antiques. Now I would be considered an antique.

This is typically called a Larkin Desk; a chifferobe would have a solid door and a closet pole to hang clothes in.

The Larkin Desk pictured is a Desk/Bureau/Bookcase combo.

You're correct Sombreuil. I was just using that as an example to get in the general form, since I wasn't sure what klem1 was describing. I had never heard the term chifferobe before. Those that I have refinished/restored were called armoire or wardrobe by the owners. Learn something new every day.

Is it ok to jack one's own thread???? LOL,,,, Just kidding,I think classic writing is relivant to classic and antique furniture. After all,what's better than displaying them togeather? Aspiring writers might find Harper Lee worthy of study in and of her self. Rather than struggling to explain , search "sequel TKAMokingbird", I am fasinated by scribes,wordsmiths and linguists, presumably due to my obivous lack of everday ability. You might ask why I went off on this tangent. To make a point about how difficult it is for average people speaking english to exactly describe something or make precise points. That's witnessed by how many names this piece of furniture is known as. Chances are other languages have a single repersentive name which can't be confused with other items. At any rate misery loves company,Klem can't tell the dealer what he is shopping for and despite owning a library,Gardener has never read TKAM. LOL

LOL, this has been a fun thread. I learned an official name of a piece of furniture ( all the auctioneers called them secretary desks) and maybe will read TKAM. And, I do own a library! Wasn't Harper Lee in the news recently?

I think a proper chifferobe is divided down the middle with a wardrobe closet on one side and a lingerie chest (drawers) on the other, perhaps also a hatbox or washstand and a tilt mirror. They both are best understood as all-in-one space savers, one is your "study" the other kits out your bedroom.

Casey

It seemed to me that was the way klem described it in the first post.

Interesting how much fewer items of clothing people had back in the day that they could be contained in one piece of furniture.

I have a Larkin desk but it is much more austere with very straight lines although it does have the curved glass in the door. It also has the claw feet in front. I bought it with flat grey paint on it but some day will strip that off. I believe it is quarter sawn oak.

Yes Ms Lee was in the news recently in relation to the sequel,that's the interesting thing abour her,the sequel was written BEFORE the origional! Having once worked as a bellman ,I can tell you wealty business people take very few things while traveling so a chifferobe would work just dandy. Their brief case might contain 1 undie,1 shirt ,1 tie, pair of socks and personal hygiene for a two day one night trip. Very rewarding for bell staff,at check out there wasn't room for an open bottle of JW Blue or Crown Royal, If yankees and "ferners" had room we convinced them Tx law requires open jugs be seized before boarding for home hee hee hee.

Btw,Q-sawn oak is notoriously difficult to strip finish from. So much so that you may as well cut you lose, sell it and consider it a lesson learned. You know of a fool in the market? (;

Sounds like you had very nice "tips" not only money!

I have had the thing for more than 20 years now with a big spot on the top shelf stripped of paint ( although stripper back then was much more powerful) and have moved it 3 times so it most likely will be here until I tip over. Maybe one of these years I will get to work on it.

I'm from Missouri and in my family we always called the armoire the chifferobe. Now, our mother's chifferobe had a hanging place on one side and drawers topped by a mirror on the other side. In this piece of furniture you see there is a secretary on the right side. Maybe if you search 'secretary' you'll find the name. I've seen similar pieces in good shape priced at 3 -- 500 dollars but I am no expert.