Talk:Pedestal desk

"The smaller pedestal desks with such a panel are sometimes called kneehole desks, and were usually placed against a wall."

Is that logical? Might "with" be a literal error for "without"?

No, a kneehole desk always had a panel. It often had a small cabinet in that space also, leaving only space for one knee, instead of both legs. You sat at the desk a bit sideways, with one of your knees under it in the "kneehole". This was convenient for persons wearing swords, which got caught or entangled (because of the scabbard and the scabbard attachments) on the pedestals or the pedestal drawers on a normal pedestal desk. Take a look at the Bureau Mazarin illustration, where you can see the keyhole to the door of the cabinet, at the end of the kneehole. In the 17th century, if you could afford a desk and if you were a man you probably also wore a sword in a scabbard all day (even though that sword might be purely ceremonial) as a badge of your membership in the nobility. Is this clear? Does this seem more logical? --AlainV 19:18, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)