You may be reading this on a laptop. Some days I write the blog on one. The modern, electronic version.
But the need for a portable, secure writing desk has been around for some time. The first time I saw one — more elaborate than the one below — was in a display of Napoleon’s mobile headquarters.
This portable desk held all the necessary supplies: paper, ink, quill, and blotter. And while this did not follow a general on the battlefield, it enabled the Justice of the Peace to write decisions and letters while away from home. And in Missouri during the early decades of the 1800’s you could not always depend on your boarding house, inn, or host to have these items available.
From my brief inspection. I believe if it was filled with modern pens and pencils, and paper and folded to it’s compact position — you could use it as an airline carry-on. Imagine the other passengers as you unfold it and work while waiting at the gate.