Work Table, 1800-1825. America, Massachusetts, Boston, 19th century. Maple, brass hardware; overall: 69.9 x 51.5 x 40 cm (27 1/2 x 20 1/4 x 15 3/4 in.). Needlework typically occupied several hours of a well-to-do woman's day. Worktables are compact, lightweight, and therefore portable. Casters permitted one to move the table around a room and to reposition it easily for sewing or writing. The top drawer of this example was designed to hold writing equipment and contains a writing tablet that could be placed at a convenient slant. The second drawer is divided into compartment for sewing equipment. Needlework was stored in a bag below, accessible by pulling its frame out of one of the table's shorter sides.