What is this desk for?

Does anyone know what this desk was used for? Any ideas as to how old
it is? Part of the top tilts away from you and stops at about a 25
degree angle on this wheel that mechanically locks the drawers in from
behind. I thought I could crack this nut, but i don't have a clue. Does
the desk top lifting up help you get at the shelf in the back? Is it to
slide papers into a garbage below the desk? Any help would be great...
when's it from, what's it for, and what's it worth. Thanks.

Kris Baker...

Ah, kids. You've never seen old secretarial/office furniture.

If that "part of the top tilts away from you and stops at about a 25 degree
angle" really stops there, rather than being able to glide out and down, to
provide a place for a typewriter, you have a broken typist's desk. You can
see the worn/darker area about 4" down inside that cubbyhole.

Anyway, see here:

Lee...

Kris is right! I think she should get the nicer one on ebay as a prize!

Kris Baker...

Oh, that's OK. You shouldn't. Really ;)

lostjohndean...

Thanks for all the help kids!

Lost John

Part of the innards of this desk is missing. It should flip up/out a
typwriter on a shelf. There were round open sided brackets on the shelf
that the feet of the typewriter slid back into.
My first job when I left high school was in the Royal Bank and every
branch had those things.
Lee in Toronto