Cylinder desk stamped Holland & Sons

Beautiful and rare English Victorian cylinder desk with roller shutter. Circa 1880. It is made of mahogany wood and varnished flamed mahogany veneer, stamped with the famous cabinetmaker and furniture maker "Holland & Sons" on the drawers. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria commissioned numerous Holland & Sons pieces of furniture for the royal residences of Balmoral, Sandringham, Windsor, and Osborne House. The company was renowned worldwide for having won numerous international competitions. The top of the writing desk is in gold-trimmed leather, and the shelf pulls out horizontally. Numerous storage compartments inside. The desk can be easily disassembled and reassembled for transport; it is made of four interlocking parts (the two drawer units, the cylinder/writing desk section, and the top shelf of the desk). There's a nice story to this desk that we can trace: there's a white plaque visible in one of the drawers mentioning Davis and Sons in Tottenham Court Road, London. This plaque indicates that the piece of furniture was resold by this high-end furniture company in a well-known antiques street around 1920. The piece of furniture subsequently ended up in the Navy and passed through the service twice in 1956 (label under the top shelf). The desk includes three keys: two for the pedestal drawers and one for locking the roller shutter cylinder. Very good condition.