Desk. Culture: American. Dimensions: 55 1/8 x 39 1/4 x 20 1/2 in. (140 x 99.7 x 52.1 cm). Maker: Kimbel and Cabus (1862-1882). Date: ca.1877.This desk embodies the Modern Gothic style prescribed by English and American design reformers beginning in the late 1860s. The firm of A. Kimbel & J. Cabus worked extensively in this mode throughout the 1870s, incorporating such Gothic elements as pointed gables, trestle feet, incised linear decoration, and elaborate strap hinges into a large stock of furniture displayed in their showrooms at 7 and 9 East Twentieth Street. No doubt much of their work was inspired by the design philosophy of Charles Locke Eastlake (1836-1906), who would have approved of the choice of oak, which he considered "by far the best wood to be used for both appearance and durability." Mounted on a trestle base with stiff, diagonal front legs and mortise-and-tenon construction, it bears medieval-style ornamentation of shallow incising, nickel-plated hardware, carved linen