Mahogany English Secretary Dresser

This pretty English mahogany piece of furniture is from the Victorian period, and probably dates from before 1871 given the marking of the lock signed Bramah. Its large drawer hides a folding front, transforming this piece of furniture into a secretary, and discovering a layout of small lockers and 3 drawers, the flap is sheathed on its internal face with a green felt. The upper part is surmounted by a stepped shelf, surrounded on 3 sides by an openwork bronze gallery, this shelf is supported at the front by two small turned columns. The bottom opens with two doors to a two-shelf layout. The piece of furniture is supported by gadrooned ball feet attesting to a high quality for the whole. The flap lock is marked Bramah 14 Picaddily. Joseph Bramah (1748-1814) was an English carpenter, also an inventor, we owe him, among other things, the toilet flush, a model of wood planer, the beer dispenser and the hydraulic press, Bramah specialized in locksmithing, a trade in which he developed a lock remarkable for the small size of its key and recognized as inviolable. Son and nephew Bramah took over the business, then it merged with JT.Needs & Co in 1871. Beautiful patina, Mahogany, XIXth century.