Austin cabinetmaker Adolph Kempen created this desk with an exuberant mixture of styles characteristic of the Victorian era. Combining Rococo Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Gothic Revival details with a prominent five-pointed Texas star, he gave a strong local flavor to a piece of furniture that reflected national fashions. The desk was offered as a prize in raffle in about 1875, and it stayed in the winner’s family for over 100 years before a Houston collector acquired it.

Adapted from Lonn Taylor and David B. Warren. Texas Furniture: The Cabinetmakers and Their Work, 1840–1880. Vol. 1, rev. ed. Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, 2012.