I have a roll top desk - very old that recently was disassembled to relocate it. During this time we found a lever/slide bar, made of same wood behind the drawers on the right hand side. When you push the lever down the bar raises, although it does not do anything else. Does anyone know what this was designed to do when it was created?
Thanks,
Robin

See if the rolltop pushes the lever down when it is is open. That unlocks the drawers. When the top is closed, the bar locks the drawers from being opened and a key locks the roll portion. With some roll tops, the center drawer, when closed and locked, also locks the side drawers as noted in the first comment by pushing on the lever.