Long tom desk 1881

Four timber long tom desks. At the top of the desks is writing equipment – ceramic ink wells, felt pen wipers, small pieces of blotting paper and ink pens. On the sloped writing surface are students' exercise books and readers.

Four original timber long tom desks in the 1877 schoolroom at the NSW Schoolhouse Museum. At the top of the desks is writing equipment – ceramic ink wells, felt pen wipers, small pieces of blotting paper and ink pens.

About the object

These long tom desks were made in the 1880s. They have timber tops and metal legs. The legs have splayed feet with three 'toes' that are screwed into the floor. The iron legs are called 'standards'.

Our long toms are constructed of two long planks of pine timber. The narrow strip at the top of the desk is flat. It has five holes for inkwells and a continuous groove for pens and pencils.

The wide part of the desk slopes down. A narrow strip at the bottom stops objects sliding off.

Long toms were also commonly constructed from Australian red cedar, depending on local availability.

Students sat at the desk on long timber bench seats, called 'forms'. Each desk comfortably seats six children but often more sat at the desks.

The desks are immovable so students were confined to their desks for instruction.

Schoolrooms from the mid 1800s were built with stepped flooring so each row of students could be seen by the teacher.

Significance

These four original long toms are the oldest school desks in the NSW Schoolhouse Museum collection.

They provide evidence of:

school furniture used in the first fifty years of public education in NSW
the gallery style of teaching used at the time – students' attention directed at the teacher imparting knowledge from the front of the room
a focus on desk work and handwriting using slate boards and pen and ink on paper.

Object details

Date – circa 1880

Creator – made under contract for the Department of Public Instruction

Place – NSW, Australia

Materials – timber, iron

Dimensions – length 254 cm long x width 40cm wide x height at top 65cm

Look closer

Timber long tom desk with smooth shiny surface and sloping writing surface

View along a long tom deskThe top strip of the desk is flat. It has a groove for pens and pencils and five holes for inkwells. The wide part of the desk slopes down. A narrow strip at the bottom stops objects sliding off.

Ceramic inkwell in a timber long tom desk with a groove for pens and pencil. The date stamp on the desk is 1881.

Manufacturing stamp on an 1881 timber long tom deskThe PS stands for Public School. The crown represents the government. VR stands for Victoria Regina, the Queen of the time. 1881 is the year of manufacture.

Two boys writing with pen and ink on a long tom desk

Students writing with ink pens at a long tom desk at the NSW Schoolhouse Museum The ink pen is dipped into the inkwell sitting in a hole in the desk. The sloping writing surface is comfortable for long periods of writing.

Children seated on backless forms at timber long tom desks facing a teacher at the front of the room

A group of students sitting at long tom desks in the 1877 schoolroom of the NSW Schoolhouse MuseumThe desks are screwed to the stepped floor and face forward. Similar to cinema seating, each row is one step higher than the one in front.

Think and wonder

See

What do you notice first about the desks and forms?
In what desk and position would you like to sit? Why?
How would the surfaces feel – the desk top, the form, the metal legs?

Think

Each desk is hand made. What tools and materials would have been used to produce them?
What can you learn from examining these desks and their placement in an 1877 schoolroom?
What would it be like to spend your school day sitting on a form working at a long tom desk?

Wonder

What do you wonder about these desks?
What questions do they raise about sitting and working in school in the past?

Do

Examine the positives and negatives of long tom desks from the perspective of a student and the teacher.

Imagine you are in one of the photographs above.
Brainstorm your initial thoughts and reactions.
Record your thoughts using a Plus, Minus, Interesting (PMI) chart.
Complete one PMI chart from a student's perspective and one from a teacher's.

Explore and connect

Hand-drawn plans of school buildings showing birds eye view, eye-level and cross sections.

Plan of North Ryde Public School, then called City View by George Allen Mansfield, Government architect, 1896The plan of the schoolroom interior at the bottom left shows the positioning of the long tom desks. Collection number 2000-917

Plan of 1877 school room

This hand-drawn plan of North Ryde Public School was drawn by government architect George Allen Mansfield in 1876. He designed many public schools and buildings in NSW.

The plan shows a bird's eye view of the schoolroom interior. It shows the position of six long tom desks. Students in 2nd to 5th Class sat at long tom desks.

The small area beside the long toms is the infants gallery with four forms for the 1st Class students.

The cross-section of the schoolroom at the top shows the stepped floor. Each row of desks was positioned one step higher than the one in front.

Then called City View, this first building of North Ryde Public School was constructed in 1877 and opened to 45 students on 25 January 1878.

Where would you position the blackboard and teacher's desk in this 1877 schoolroom? Why?

Page of diagrams of long benches and long tom desks with labels of dimensions. Includes instructions on materials and construction.

Specification for construction of long tom desks and forms on page 3 from Specification for Public School Furniture, Tamworth District. Department of Public Instruction, Architect's Office, Sydney, 1893Collection number 2000-997

School furniture specification, 1893

This is a page from a book titled Specification for Public School Furniture.

Specific instructions for the construction of furniture for public schools were produced by the Department of Public Instruction. Contractors in local areas were invited to tender their interest in constructing the furniture.

The specifications state sizes, materials, construction methods, packaging, delivery and price.

This specification is for Tamworth District and states that desks and forms are to be made from Australian red cedar.

Red cedar was a popular timber for furniture and joinery at the time. It was logged from rainforests along coastal NSW and was known as 'red gold'. Most red cedar trees had been felled by the 1890s and very few remain today.

Considering transport and materials, why were local contractors engaged to construct public school furniture?

Three glossy ceramic inkwells with wide top, tapered sides and small hole in centre of the top.

Three ceramic ink wells, designed to hold liquid writing ink, circa 1880

Ceramic inkwells, circa 1880

These three inkwells are made to hold liquid writing ink. The round shape of the inkwell fits into the round hole in a long tom desk.

The wide lip at the top secured the well in the desk. The narrow hole just fitted a dip pen and reduced the chance of spillage.

Ceramic inkwells were used in NSW schools from the mid to late 1800s to the 1950s when they were replaced with Bakelite inkwells.

>Go to the Ceramic inkwells page

>Home – object gallery

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands of people using this site. Is, always was, always will be – Aboriginal land.

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