Walnut Canterbury with Folding Lectern Top c.1880

Unusual late 19th.c. burr walnut canterbury or book tidy with a folding lectern top c.1880. 23" x 12" top with symmetrically arranged burr walnut veneers and a raised and pierced gallery front and rear. Lifting at the back edge to form a sloping lectern on an adjustable folding stand. Over a book or magazine tidy with elaborately shaped and pierced dividers and highly decorative front and rear panels joined with turned spindle stretchers at the sides. Shaped plinth base, also burr walnut veneered, with a single drawer in the front. Raised on carved legs with the original brass castors below. Excellent colour and condition, cleaned and waxed in our workshops.