The Secretary’s Day. 1947. Coronet Instructional Films. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOe0259_OuA (March 7, 2026).

Typewriter desks with top flip functionality shown in operation at 00:32 and 01:45 and closing it up at 10:24.

In addition to storing away the typewriter when not needed, these flip top desks also served as impromptu dust covers to keep dust out of them when not actively in use.

Jean Carroll as secretary and Marge Quinn as stenographer.

Paper sorter file in desk drawer at 00:55

Appointments and diaries

Definition of stenographer: responsible for dictation, transcription, typing, billing, filing, operate office machines like duplicators and calculators, occasional switchboard operation.

Filing here shown as a simple presumably recent correspondence file that is kept on hand in the secretary's desk drawer rather than in a nearby filing cabinet or centralized office filing cabinet. 03:29

"A good secretary doesn't rely on memory." (Instead she makes a permanent note.) timestamp 4:11

Placing a long distance phone call [8:31]