This standup law desk resided in the Stone Library at Peace field when the National Park service assumed stewardship of the site in 1946. The desk was used by John Adams in the law office in his home, at the Farm at Penn’s Hill. There was a separate entrance constructed for the law office on the side of the house for clients. John Adams continued to use the desk as Vice-President and President of the United States during summers spent at Peace field in Quincy. We do not know how John Adams acquired the desk.
The desk has a slant top with hinged lid. The slant top is not attached to the lower section of the desk. The four legs are attached to the body of the desk. It has one drawer with bail handles. Inside, spanning the width of the desk are fourteen cubby holes for filing papers.
Left: The desk in the Stone Library at Peace field.
Right: The desk interior with 14 cubby holes.
Transcription of the Labels of the cubby holes in the desk:
“No. 1 Sundry letters & reports from Sec. of State
No 2 - - - - from Sec of War & Navy
No 3 - - - - from Sec of Treasury
No 4 - - - - from Attorney General
No 5 Reports of the Heads of dep on the following subjects
The powers & duties of the Account at War
Answers to questions proposed by the President
Proper measures to be recommended at the opening of the several sessions of Congress on 1797 ’90.99.1000.
No 6 Draughts of Speeches
No 7 Papers relative to the rank of Gen Knox & Hamilton
-
Do – of Talbot & Truxton
N 8 treaty with Prussia (?) by Mr. J. Q. A. and the opening of the commercial intercourse with St. ?
N9 Envoys to France - 6 Article of the Brit. Treaty and a treaty with Russia (?)
No 10 Louisiana, Spanish post & Gen Wilkenson
No 11 Letters from Gen Washington
No 12 Mr. Gerry and Mr. Pintard (?)
No 13 Letters from Mrs. J Q. Adams
No 14 Selected private letters”
After graduating from Harvard College, John Adams began studying law with respected attorneys. By November 1758, he was admitted to the Suffolk County Bar. Adams’ legal career started with a modest practice at his farmhouse in Braintree but grew into a thriving firm that served influential clients, including John Hancock. As his reputation increased, Adams frequently traveled the court circuit, spending long periods away from home.
In a letter to her sister Mary Cranch, Abigail Adams commented on how much John was away:
Braintree, October 6, 1766
“He is such an Itinerant, to speak that I have but little of his company. He is now at Plymouth, and Next week goes to Taunton.”
Abigail contributed to John's law office as well. While John was traveling to the Province of Maine in June 1772, he wrote to Abigail saying he hoped to return to Boston in time to file all his pending cases for the Suffolk County court. If he was unable to make it back, Abigail would need to ensure all his cases were properly entered into the court docket herself.
The history of the standup desk is obscure. There is little written about when it first was used or who invented it. There are however many references to well-known statesmen and writers who had used a standup desk. Thomas Jefferson designed his standup desk himself. Others who owned standup desks include Charles Dickens, Winston Churhill, Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf.
The standup desk had a surge in the 1880s. An article, in Popular Science, in 1883, urged those who sit at desks to get a standup desk for health reasons. Today the standup desk is similarly popular with the awareness of ergonomics. A variety of standup desks exist, designed to reduce fatigue, prevent injuries, and boost workplace productivity.
Dimensions: The desk is 123.2 cm [4’.5”] tall, and 81.3 cm [2’8”] wide. The dept is 107.4 cm [3’6”].
At time of posting, this object is available to view on a guided tour of Peace field. A replica of the desk is also available to view at the Adams Farm at Penn's Hill. Tours are offered Wednesday through Friday during our season (May 1 – October 31) and ticket reservations must be made in-person at the Adams NHP Visitor Center.
Adams Papers Digital Edition - Massachusetts Historical Society. Masshist.Org. 2026.
Harris, Wilhemina. 1966-1968. Historic Furnishings Report of the Old House, Adams National Historic Site, Quincy Massachusetts, Volume VIII, p. 759.
Holton, Woody. 2010. Abigail Adams. Riverside: Atria Books.
National Park Service, “John Adams (1735 - 1826)" - Adams National Historical Park.
Smith, Dominic. 2014. “The Literature of the Standing Desk.” The Millions. May 15, 2014.