A brass lectern is a tall reading stand made wholly or largely of brass, designed to support a large book such as a Bible at a comfortable height for reading aloud. Most were made for churches, where they stand near the chancel steps, but smaller and domestic versions were also produced for libraries, halls and private chapels.
The classic English form is the eagle lectern, in which the open wings of a cast brass eagle carry the book, the bird standing on an orb above a turned or clustered column and a broad base, sometimes raised on small lion feet. Desk-topped lecterns with a sloping book rest supported on a pierced or Gothic-traceried stem are also common. The great majority of antique examples date from the Victorian and Edwardian periods, when the Gothic Revival and the restoration of parish churches created strong demand from specialist ecclesiastical metalworkers. Collectors look for heavy castings, crisp chasing, original finish and an intact book rest. Redundant church fittings now find new homes in country houses, libraries and restaurants, where a brass lectern makes a striking stand for a large dictionary, visitors' book or atlas.
