This writing desk in polished oak with two cabinets served Chekhov back in Melikhovo, from where he transported it to Yalta in 1899. The blue cloth on the lid appeared in 1960 during the restoration. At this table, Anton Pavlovich worked in his office until 1904, when a more comfortable writing desk appeared in the house, which is still there. In Chekhov’s time, the surface of the table was occupied with writing utensils, an inkwell, candlesticks and medical instruments. Part of the office opposite the table is occupied by a niche with a Turkish sofa. It has protected the writer from destructive air leaks when he was resting. At this table, such works as “The Lady with the Dog”, “The Bishop”, “Betrothed”, “At Christmas Time”, the story “In the Ravine” were created, as well as “Three Sisters” and “The Cherry Orchard”.

The idea of “The Cherry Orchard” came to Chekhov in 1901. It was planned to be a comedy. The final version of the play was completed in the fall of 1903. “The Cherry Orchard” became the last Chekhov’s performance of the Moscow Art Theater, staged during the writer’s lifetime. Anton Pavlovich sent the play to the Art Theater on October 12, 1903. The premiere was scheduled for January 17 (29), 1904 - the writer’s birthday. On the same day, the 25th anniversary of Chekhov’s literary activity was celebrated. The theater was sold out. Among the audience were eminent Moscow artists, writers and poets. When the third act ended, Anton Pavlovich took the stage. The Moscow Art Theater literally burst into applause.

In the production of “The Cherry Orchard”, the realistic symbols made a special impression: the cherry blossoms in the first act, the sad sound of a broken string in the second and fourth. Chekhov himself considered these details to be very important. Even the disappointing news from the theater of hostilities in the Far East, where the Russian-Japanese war was going on: the defeat of the Russian fleet, the death of Admiral Makarov, could not influence the enthusiastic perception of the play by the public. Critics called “The Cherry Orchard” a worthy result of Chekhov’s creative work. During his lifetime, he was referred to the classics of Russian literature, named the successor of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev and Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy.