Skinner Galleries. Bolton/Boston, MA Late 19th-century laptop desk inlaid with ivory, shell and lead didn't find a buyer for its $1,000/1,500 estimate.

Next time you see someone punching away at an ugly laptop computer, remember portable writing desks were once things of beauty. As laptop desks in the 19th century, they were treated as items of importance, decorated with brass, silver, tortoise shell and ivory. Perhaps today's industrial designers will take a hint and add some decorative touches?

Laptops belong to the decades when letter writing and penmanship were practiced almost as an art form. The laptop opened to the writing flap that was padded with velvet, felt or leather. There were compartments either on the top or beneath each part of the flap to store stationery and correspondence. Those designed for ladies were elegantly appointed while a simple wood laptop was used by men for both business travel and office.

These days they are more decorative than useful. At auction, depending on the quality of decorative elements, they can sell for $150 to $500. Unfortunately when several real beauties came up at two English and Continental Furniture and Decorations Skinner auctions they went begging, not even making estimates of up to $1,500. The workmanship on one included ivory, shell and lead on tortoiseshell - no takers.

The first desks made in ancient Egypt and China weren't desks as we know them but writing boxes - small chests with sloping lids. Not only writing materials but also objects of value were kept inside the ancient version of the laptop. By the Middle Ages desks used in monasteries were mounted on stands and hinged so that the inner side formed a writing surface when opened. The slant front and fall front desks of today had their beginnings here.

With the growth of the upper and middle class in the later Gothic period, various types of furniture were needed. The desk box came into use, with incised decorations and native woods. This form lasted into the 18th century The first important change in the appearance of the desk occurred in the late 17th century when the writing box was placed on top of a set of drawers. The desk became an important piece of furniture by the 18th century in England, America and Europe. The result was the secretary bookcase. It was (and is) a tall structure, often with elaborate carving. In America these desks made a patriotic statement with their carved eagle finials and patriotic motif inlays. Today, desks made during the American 18th century Federal period are considered masterpieces of architectural composition. Pieces that can be attributed to specific makers can sell in the high thousands. By the Empire period (1820-30) the slant front was out of fashion, replaced by the straight fall front desk.

Among the most elaborate examples of this period were the Biedermeier secretaries, made in Germany. They had several tall pediments, and sometimes as many as three architectural facades.

Small, "ladies" desks were made around 1680, first in England. The fashion of letter writing and memoirs during the reign of Louis XV put desks in every room in France and Europe. These were small, table-style with enclosed top sections that closed with doors, lids and tambours.

The table desk developed from the writing table. It had banks of drawers both above and below the writing surface. The kneehole desk also became popular at this time.

One of the most unusual and decorative variations on the desk was made in Spain, beginning in the 16th century.

The "Vargueno" rested upon a cupboard style base or on a trestle stand. The exterior was gilded or polychromed in bright colors. It had a fall front and contained numerous compartments and drawers of various sizes.

CLUES: Victorian laptop desks in plain woods can be had in shops for $100 - even less at estate and garage sales.

Reproductions of other old styles are still being made. The Vargueno is made in the old way, making it hard to tell old from new. French and English "antiques" should be examined for old construction and tool marks. Don't be afraid to open drawers and "sniff." New wood smells new.