What's the answer?

Dear Student,
Given below are the answers to few of your questions. Kindly post the others in a separate thread.

1. The roll-top desk was from the early nineteenth century according to the seller and was made of oak. It was in a poor condition and wasn't very costly. One of its leg was clumsily mended and had scorch marks all down one side.
2. The author found a small black tin box and sello-taped to the top of it, he found a piece of lined notepaper.

Regards.