Refers to English and European desks with a steeply sloping lid (usually a 45-degree angle) surmounted by a bookcase. For similar American examples use "desks and bookcases." The furniture type developed from the bureau. In the early 18th century one form of bureau comrpised drawers below a sloping writing flap, resting on cabriole legs. Many bureaus of this period and earlier were surmounted by a bookcase, often enclosed by glazed or unglazed doors. Dutch furniture makers developed the form, creating the "bureau-bookcase," which was often fitted with an ingenious combination of drawers and compartments. It became very popular, and spread to other parts of Europe.
