<p>
	The <a href="http://www.antiques-in-france.com/antiquites/-/-/-/bureaux-plats">flat-top desk</a> appeared in the early 17th C &nbsp;and the writing cabinet, &nbsp;ancestor to the bureau de ministre, in the mid-17th C. &nbsp;The &nbsp;early 18th C saw the arrival of the<a href="http://www.antiques-in-france.com/antiquites/-/-/-/cylinder-top-desk"> cylinder top desk</a> which became popular during the periods Louis XV and Louis XVI. &nbsp;The difficulty of making a cylinder which would not warp made it expensive and thus reserved for the rich.<br />
	The cheaper <a href="http://www.antiques-in-france.com/antiquites/-/-/-/bureaux-de-pente">&nbsp;slope-top desk</a> with a flat fall-top was then developped. &nbsp;The Louis XV period produced the <a href="http://www.antiques-in-france.com/antiquites/-/-/-/secretaires">secretaire</a>, a much saught after piece of French antique furniture. &nbsp;The lighter ladys&#39; desks such as le bonheur du jour appeared towards the end of the 18th C. &nbsp;All these desks continued to be popular during the 19th C along with the bureau a gradin, a flat-top desk with one or two tiers of drawers on the top. &nbsp; In the late 19th-early 20th C the mass produced roll-top desk appeared in offices.</p>