Special furniture was created for use in schools. With the assistance of a newpaper clipping pasted in the schoolmaster's high desk it is possible to assign the piece from Grafton, Ontario a date as early as 1877. The clipping commemorates a presentation by students to a departing teacher, Mr. Patterson:
Dear Teacher, Learning with reg[ret] you are about to leave us as teacher your Grafton pupils, take this oppor[tunity] to present you with this inkstand. W[?] you to accept it as small token of [grati]tude and respect: and that you may [have] much success and enjoy much happiness [in] the future is the wish of the Grafton Sch[ool]. Signed on behalf of the pupils, C.H. Mallory, J.Standley
The slant top child's desk was probably produced in Quebec and can be dated to the id-nineteenth century. With the modernization of schooling came innovations in school furniture and equipment. Departments of education and educational journals promoted the latest type of desk which, for reasons of organization and space, were to be fixed and immovable. The child, it was felt, needed a desk with support and comfort for the long days in school. In addition, educators declared that problems could arise "from the defective distribution and interior arrangements of the classes in schools." Educational journals and books on school architecture therefore prescribed the number of seats and their spacing, the number of square feet, height and ventilation that were required for good health, cleanliness and order and also for effective classroom management.
Courtesy: National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada
