Looking for details on this desk and chair my great grandmother left for me

Thank you!

 

Indeed! It will take me a couple of weeks until I can locate the list as I'm away from home at the moment, but I will certainly try to go through it when I can!

 

Thanks for the detailed history. San Francisco was a culturally diverse city in the early part of the 20th century, particularly after the Pan-Pacific Exposition of 1915. The exhibition had an Italian pavilion and your ancestors may well have been able to procure this piece in San Francisco as a result of this exposure.

 

I should have also mentioned that my grandfather was a salesman selling mostly sundries to the military and many of their military outposts/bases all across California, Hawaii and most of Asia/The Pacific. He owned his own company so he frequently traveled throughout Asia and could have possibly picked this up there, I suppose.

 

Don't believe this to be Asian in origin. Thought of the distinct possibility that this could be early 20th century California furniture. However, the scene depicted by the inlay does look more Italian that I would expect in such furniture. Would expect to see a Spanish mission there.

 

That makes sense! I will say my family always remarked on how Northern California looked so much like the Italy they remembered.

 

It's definitely an Italian scene, and probably Tuscany.

 

Yeah, I am goin with Brad on this one. It does look like calif mission style furniture but that medallion on front kinda doesn't fit in so, i dunno.

 

With an imported Sorrento Ware plaque, perhaps....?

 

Yeah, that works.

 

Found these markings on the back of it today.

 

Does anyone know what these markings may mean?

 

The MHG is a common abbreviation for mahogany on furniture. The D38S is likely to have been the manufacturer's item or design number.

 

Did I miss pictures of the drawer construction. Looks like a Spanish style Vargueno.

 

It was probably derived from something like a vargueno.