A STRONG distinction was made in America during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries between mirrors and looking-glasses; the name “mirror” was applied to a particular kind of glass, either convex or concave, and one old authority states that “a mirror is a circular convex glass in a gilt frame.”

Looking-glasses appear in inventories in this country as early as 1650, and in 1658 William Bartlett of Hartford left no less than ten, the dearest valued at one pound.

In 1670 the Duke of Buckingham brought Venetian workmen to England, and established glass works in Lambeth; but up to that date the looking-glasses occasionally mentioned in inventories must have been made in Venice. Some of the records are “a great looking glass,”—“looking glass with brasses,”—“great looking glass of ebony,”—“an olive wood diamond cut looking glass,”—and “a looking glass with a walnut tree frame.” The glass usually had the edge finished with a slight bevelling about an inch wide, made by hand, of course, which followed the outline of the inside of the frame.

Hungerford Pollen, in “Furniture and Woodwork,” says: “The looking-glasses made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ... had the plates finished by an edge gently bevelled, of an inch in width, following the form of the frame, whether square or shaped in curves. It is of great difficulty in execution, the plate being held by the workman over his head, and the edges cut by grinding.... The angle of the” (modern) “bevel is generally too acute, whereby the prismatic light produced by this portion of the mirror is in too violent and showy contrast to the remainder.”

One can always distinguish an old bevel, by rubbing the finger upon it. The bevel is so slight that it can hardly be felt, where the modern bevel is sharp and distinct.

Looking-glasses of large size were made in two sections, the lower piece with the edge bevelled and lapped over the plain upper piece. This was to avoid the tax upon glass beyond a certain size.

The fashion for japanning or lacquering which obtained vogue at the close of the seventeenth century was followed in looking-glass frames. A London newspaper of 1689 thus advertised: “Several sorts of Screwtores, Tables, Stands and Looking-glasses of Japan and other work.”

Illustration 363 shows a looking-glass in a japanned frame, owned by Dwight M. Prouty, Esq., of Boston. The wood of the frame is walnut, and it is covered with lacquer in gold and colors. The shape of the frame around the glass is followed by the bevel, and the lower piece of glass laps over the upper.

Illustration 364 shows the top section of a looking-glass with a lacquered frame. In this case the frame was made in sections, the lower section being lost. The curves in the frame are followed in the glass by the old shallow bevelling over an inch in width, and a star is cut in the middle of the glass. The frame is elaborately japanned with gold and bright colors, and is twenty-six inches in height, showing that the looking-glass, when whole, was of generous size. The design of the sawed edge is of a very early style. The glass is owned by the American Antiquarian Society, of Worcester.

The looking-glass at the head of this chapter is owned by E. R. Lemon, Esq., of the Wayside Inn. It is of walnut veneer, and the old bevelled glass is in two sections, the upper one cut in a design, and with the lower edge lapped over the other piece of glass. Another glass of the same period, the first quarter of the eighteenth century, owned by Mr. Lemon, heads Chapter XI. This frame has a top ornament of a piece of walnut sawed in curves which suggest those upon later frames.

Such a looking-glass as this was probably what Judge Sewall meant when he sent for “A True Looking Glass of Black Walnut Frame of the Newest Fashion (if the Fashion be good) as good as can be bought for five or six pounds.” This was for wedding furniture for the judge’s daughter Judith, married in 1720.

A looking-glass of the same date, with a carved wood frame, silvered, heads Chapter VI. It was originally owned by an ancestor of the late Major Ben: Perley Poore, and was probably made in Europe. It has always, within the memory of the family, been silvered, and it is safe to say that it was so originally. The carving is rather crudely done, the ornament at the top containing a bird which is sitting upon a cherub’s head. This glass is now at Indian Hill, Newburyport.

In nothing is the charm of association more potent than in an old looking-glass, when one considers the faces and scenes that have been reflected in it. Illustration 365 shows a looking-glass which hung in the Schuyler mansion at Stillwater, New York, in which Washington stopped over night; and although the quicksilver is somewhat worn off the back of the glass, the thought that it must have mirrored the face of Washington preserves it from being restored. The shape is extremely graceful, and the outline of the inside of the frame is followed by little scrolls cut in the glass. The frame is carved in wood, and gilt, and was probably made in Italy about 1730. It is now owned by the writer. The low-boy in the illustration is described upon page 39.

Rococo and Chinese designs were rampantly fashionable in frames for looking-glasses from 1750 to 1780. They present an astonishing combination of Chinese pagodas, shells, flowers, branches, animals, and birds, with occasionally a figure of a man or woman considerably smaller than the flowers and birds upon the same frame.

Some of the famous designers of frames were Matthias Lock, who published “A Book New of Pier Frames, Oval Girandoles, Tables, etc.,” in 1765; Edwards and Darley; and Thomas Johnson; besides the better-known cabinet-makers Ince and Mayhew and Chippendale. Lock and Johnson devoted much space to frames for girandoles, pier glasses, ovals, and chimney-pieces, all elaborately carved with scrolls and shells with dripping water, birds, and animals of every sort from a monkey to a cow, the latter unromantic and heavy creature figuring upon a dripping scroll in one of Johnson’s frames.

Illustration 366 shows a looking-glass of the size which was called a “pier” glass, which must have been made about 1760. It is carved in walnut, and the natural wood has never been stained or gilt. It presents many of the characteristic designs fashionable at that time, of scrolls and dripping water, while no less than seven pagoda roofs form a part of the frame. The figure, probably a Chinese lady with a parasol, is missing from the pagoda at the top. Below the frame is carved a little monkey sitting in the lower scroll. The frame is rather unusual in having side branches for candles. This looking-glass and the one in the following illustration are owned by Mrs. Charles Barrell of Barrell’s Grove, York Corner, Maine, and are in the old Barrell house, which stands with its original furniture, as it stood one hundred and fifty years ago. These looking-glasses were bought by a Barrell ancestor at an auction in London, about 1795. The articles sold at this auction were the furnishings of one of the households of the Prince of Wales, which was, temporarily at least, given up by him upon his marriage, and these glasses have reflected many a gay scene in which the “First gentleman in Europe” figured, while Beau Brummel may have used them to arrange the wonderful toilettes which won him his name. What a change to the little Maine village!

Another looking-glass of carved wood, with the same history, is shown in Illustration 367. This frame is gilded, and possesses none of the Chinese designs of the other frame, but is purely rococo. It has the old glass with bevelled edges. Both of these looking-glasses must have been made at least twenty-five years before the time when they were sold at auction by the royal bridegroom.

At the head of Chapter V is shown a looking-glass with a frame of white with gilt ornaments. It formerly belonged to Governor Wentworth, and is now in the Poore collection at Indian Hill. It is similar in design and decoration to the looking-glasses seen in French palaces, and was probably made in France about 1760.

A charming oval looking-glass which might be of the present latest fashion forms the heading to Chapter III. It has the flowing ribbon bow-knot which Chippendale employed, and which has been fashionable ever since. This looking-glass was made about 1770, and was inherited by Miss H. P. F. Burnside of Worcester from her great-grandmother.

Illustration 368 shows a fine looking-glass with a frame of carved wood. There is a small oval medallion below the frame with emblems of Freemasonry in gilt upon a black ground. A large medallion is above the glass, with Cupids painted upon a black ground, and the frame is surmounted by an eagle. This looking-glass is owned by Mrs. Charles R. Waters of Salem.

Another of the same period, with a carved wood frame, is shown at the beginning of Chapter IV. This frame has a classical design of garlands of laurel with an urn at the top. The small oval medallion at the base of both of these frames seems to be a feature of such looking-glasses, together with the garlands of carved wood. This looking-glass is owned by the writer. Upon its back is an oak board which must have been prized highly, for it has been carefully repaired with two patches of wood set into it.

Illustration 369 shows a looking-glass made in the first half of the eighteenth century, of walnut. The gilt mouldings are carved in wood, as are the gilt leaves and flowers at the side. The waving line of the inside of the frame is followed in the bevelling of the glass. Glasses of this period were usually made in two pieces, to lessen the expense, the edge of one piece of glass being simply lapped over the other. This looking-glass is unusually large, seven and one-half feet high and three feet wide. It is now owned by the Philadelphia Library Association, and was used in 1778 at the famous Mischianza fÊte, where probably the lovely Peggy Shippen and the beautiful Jewess, Rebecca Frank, and perhaps the ill-fated AndrÉ, used the glass to put the finishing touches to their toilettes, or to repair the damages wrought during the gay dances of that historic ball.

A looking-glass showing the development from the one in Illustration 369 may be seen in Illustration 26 upon page 39. The frame is more elaborate than the older one in its curves and in the pediment with the broken arch, and its date is about 1770. The original glass is gone, so we cannot tell if it was bevelled, but it probably was. This very fine frame came from the Chase mansion in Annapolis, and is now owned by Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq., of Millbrook, New York.

Another looking-glass owned by Mr. Flagler is shown in Illustration 370. The frame is of walnut veneer, and the shape of the glass without any curves at the top, and the garlands at the side more finely modelled and strung upon a wire, determine it to have been made some years later than the frame in Illustration 369.

A looking-glass with a mahogany and gilt frame, owned by the writer, is shown in the heading to Chapter IX. This looking-glass dates between the last two described; the curved form of the upper edge of the glass in Illustration 26 leaving a slight reminder in the cut-off, upper corners of this glass, which vanishes in the square corners of the one in Illustration 370. The garlands at each side are carved from wood, without wire. These looking-glasses are now reproduced in large numbers and are sometimes called Washington glasses, from the fact that one hangs upon the wall in a room at Mount Vernon.

A very unusual looking-glass is shown in Illustration 371, a long mantel looking-glass of very early date, probably not later than 1750.

The glass is made in three sections, the two end sections being lapped over the middle one. The glasses are not bevelled. Short garlands carved in wood are upon the sides, and the moulding around the glass is made in curves, while the upper and lower edges of the frame are perfectly straight.

A glimpse may be caught above the frame of the two pieces of metal fastened to the back, which are found upon such frames, with a hole for a screw to fasten the heavy frame to the wall. This looking-glass belongs to Dwight M. Prouty, Esq.

The looking-glasses in Illustrations 372 and 373 also belong to Mr. Prouty.

Glasses of this style are not uncommon. They are never large, and as they are always about the same size, they must have been made for a certain purpose, or to follow a certain fashion.

The decorations vary, but are always applied in gilt upon the high top above the frame, and upon the piece below, while the sides are straight and plain.

Illustration 374 shows a beautiful looking-glass in the Chase mansion in Annapolis. It is carved in wood and gilt, and four pieces of glass are set in the frame, which is surmounted by the eagle holding a shield with stars and stripes.

Illustration 375 shows a very large looking-glass, from the Ogle house in Annapolis. It is finished in white and gold and has the original bevelled glass.

The looking-glass which heads Chapter XIII is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is of the same period as the glass in Illustration 371.

A looking-glass is shown in the heading to Chapter VIII in which the decoration is produced by both carving and sawing, as well as by gilt ornaments. The sawing of ornamental outlines appears upon the earliest frames, such as Illustration 364, and is found upon frames made during the eighteenth century until its close.

During the last quarter of the eighteenth century frames which are apparently a cheaper form of the mahogany and gilt looking-glasses described, were most popular, and are commonly found. These frames are veneered with mahogany or walnut, and are sawed in outlines similar to those of the richer frames of walnut or mahogany and gilt. The inside of the frame next the glass has a narrow hand-carved gilt moulding, and there is sometimes a gilt bird flying through the opening sawed in the upper part of the frame, while in other frames the opening is partially filled by three feathers, a conventional shell, or a flower in gilt. Occasionally a line of inlaying follows the gilt moulding next the glass. In smaller looking-glasses a gilded plaster eagle was glued upon the frame above the glass. Such frames may be found, or rather might have been found, in almost any old house.

Illustration 376 shows two of these looking-glasses. The larger glass is owned by the writer, the smaller by W. S. G. Kennedy, Esq., of Worcester.

A looking-glass with some variations from those previously shown forms the heading to Chapter X. The lower part of the frame has the sawed outlines which appear upon so many, while the upper part has a broken arch cornice of a high and slender design, showing the influence of the lighter Hepplewhite styles. A colored shell is inlaid in the top of this frame, and there are two rows of fine inlaying around the glass. The frame is surmounted by an urn or vase with flowers and stalks of wheat, upon wires, like the slender garlands at the sides. This looking-glass belongs to H. H. Kohn, Esq., of Albany.

Illustration 377 shows another looking-glass of the same style, with the wheat and flowers upon wires springing from an urn at the top, and leaves of plaster strung upon wires at the sides.

Illustration 378 shows a looking-glass carved and sawed in fantastic outlines, with ribbons at the sides. These two looking-glasses are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Wooden frames with sawed outlines continued fashionable until the close of the century.

It was customary for these mahogany-framed glasses to rest upon two mirror knobs, which fitted into the lower curves of the frame and were screwed into the wall.

These knobs were sometimes made of brass, but the most fashionable mirror knobs were those with a medallion, round or oval, of Battersea enamel upon copper, framed in brass. The design of the medallions varied, heads of historical personages being very popular, while flowers, landscapes, fancy heads, the eagle and thirteen stars, and the ever-favorite design of the monument and weeping willow appear in the bright tints of the enamel. Dwight Blaney, Esq., of Boston, has a collection of over one hundred knobs. Washington, Lafayette, Franklin, Lord Nelson are some of the heads found upon mirror knobs. Four pairs of enamelled knobs, owned by the writer, appear in Illustration 379. The head of Lord Nelson figures upon one pair.

“A circular convex glass in a gilt frame” is shown in Illustration 380. Such glasses were advertised as “mirrors,” in distinction from the looking-glasses which were in ordinary use, and they were sold in pairs, for sconces, the convex or occasionally concave glass precluding the possibility of its use for a literal looking-glass, as any person will agree who has caught in one a glimpse of a distorted reflection of face or figure.

These mirrors were fashionable during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, and were made in various sizes, from twelve inches in diameter to three feet. The eagle formed the most popular ornament for the top, but many were made with a winged horse, or a sort of dragon, instead of the eagle. These mirrors were called girandoles, like others with branches for candles. The girandole in Illustration 380 is owned by the Albany Historical Society.

The looking-glass in Illustration 381 belongs to the writer, and is in the same style as the glass at the head of Chapter IV, which is described upon page 384.

The garlands upon this frame are carved in fruit, grapes and plums with leaves, instead of the laurel which is generally the design, and the medallion above the frame has a classic head in profile, and is surmounted by a ribbon bow-knot of three loops. The glass is of quite a large size.

Illustration 382 shows a looking-glass owned by Mrs. William Preston of Richmond, Virginia. The upper section of the glass is divided from the lower by a gilt moulding, and is delicately painted, in black and gold upon a white ground, with three panels, the middle one having a classical design. The pyramid-shaped pieces at the top are of painted glass and from them go chains, held by an eagle above.

Illustration 383 shows a large and handsome looking-glass made in the fashion of Hepplewhite’s designs, the fan-shaped ornament below the glass being quite characteristic of Hepplewhite’s frames. The eagle at the top holds in his beak chains which extend to the urns upon the upper corners of the frame.

This looking-glass was made about 1790, and is owned by Mrs. Thomas H. Gage of Worcester.

A looking-glass made to fit the panel over the mantel is shown in Illustration 384. This mantel with the looking-glass is in the Nichols house, in Salem, in a room built in 1783 for a young bride. The upper part of the frame has the lattice and ornaments in gilt upon a white ground, and the overhanging cornice has a row of gilt balls beneath it. The pillars framing the three sections of glass are fluted and bound with garlands.

Another large looking-glass of a similar design, but of a few years’ later date, is shown in Illustration 385. It is owned by Dwight Blaney, Esq., and was probably made to fit some space, as it is of unusual shape and very large.

The three panels at the top are painted upon glass, the middle panel having one of the mortuary subjects which were so popular with our ancestors, of a monument with a willow carefully trained to weep over the urn, and a despondent female disconsolately gazing upon the ground. The glass may have been ordered by the grief-stricken lady who is depicted in the panel, as evidence that while the looking-glass was a tribute to the vanities of life, the doleful scene in the panel above the glass should serve as a reminder that such vanities are fleeting.

The cornice and the capitals of the pillars are very elaborate, and around the top runs a fluted band wound with garlands similar to the pillars in Illustration 384.

Illustration 386 shows a looking-glass in a frame the main portion of which is of salmon-colored marble, which is glued or cemented to the wood in small thin pieces. Upon the edges of this marble is a narrow gilt moulding, and the ornaments at the top and bottom are of gilt, the fine scrolls at the top being made of wire. Such looking-glasses have been found in New England, chiefly in Massachusetts, and the majority that have been traced have Marblehead as their starting-point in this country. In Marblehead they are known as “Bilboa glasses,” and the story of the old wives of Marblehead is that these glasses were all brought home by sailors who had been to Bilboa, “In the bay of Biscay, oh,” and that the looking-glasses were either given as presents to wives or sweethearts, or more prosaically exchanged for a cargo of Marblehead dried fish. The frames, however, would appear to be of Italian origin, if one wishes to be accurate, and discard the picturesque Marblehead legend.

The looking-glass in Illustration 386 is now in the Boston Art Museum. The “Bilboa glasses” are nearly all similar to this in design, with marble pillars at the side and gilt ornaments at the top and bottom. The glass is the original one with the shallow, wide bevel, and the frame, exclusive of the ornaments at the top and bottom, measures twenty-five inches in height and eighteen in width.

Another “Bilboa glass” is shown in the heading to Chapter VII. This glass is owned by Mrs. M. G. Potter of Worcester, and the story in the family is that this looking-glass was made by Captain John Potter of North Brookfield, a well-known clock-maker and metal-worker, as a present to his bride, about 1790. The glass has always been fastened to the black panel behind it, within the memory of the family. The probability is that the black panel was made by Captain Potter, the frame of marble with its fine gilt ornamentation having been brought originally with other Bilboa looking-glasses to Marblehead, from Italy or Spain, whichever place they may have been brought from.

The top of this glass is distinctly different from the one in Illustration 386, and is on the order of Chippendale or other designers of his day. Several “Bilboa” frames have been found with this little fence at the top. Other Bilboa frames have an oval or round painted panel in the centre of the light, open gilt ornament at the top. Two Bilboa glasses are in the collection of Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., with the marble in the frame dark with white veins, instead of the usual salmon color, but made in the same design with the columns at the sides.

During the eighteenth century, particularly the latter years, it was fashionable to have a looking-glass on the mantel, extending nearly the length of the shelf, and divided into three sections, the larger section in the middle. The line where the glass was joined was covered by a narrow gilt moulding. Such a looking-glass is shown in Illustration 387. It has the overhanging cornice which was a feature of these glasses, and which was used as early as 1783. A panel of black basalt with a classical design is set into the cornice above the glass, and two small panels above the side columns. Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., owns this looking-glass. It probably was made about 1790, when Wedgwood and Flaxman designs were popular. Another mantel glass of simpler style is shown in Illustration 334.

It has the projecting cornice but not the balls beneath. The design of the frame is in the usual classical style, with pillars at the sides. Another similar looking-glass is shown in Illustration 335. Both of these glasses belong to Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., of Cambridge, and they were made from 1800 to 1810.

Illustration 388 shows a very handsome mantel glass owned by Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq., of Millbrook, made about 1810.

Cheval glasses were not common in early times, to judge from the small number of old specimens found. Illustration 389 shows one with a frame and stand of mahogany, owned by Mrs. N. F. Rogers of Worcester, and made about 1830 to 1840.

Looking-glasses were made from 1810 to 1825, following the heavy designs which were fashionable at that period, and these glasses are commonly found. By this time the shallow bevel upon the glass had disappeared, and the glass in these heavy gilt frames is always plain. The overhanging cornice, often with acorns or balls beneath, is a feature of these glasses, one of which is shown in Illustration 390, with a classical design below the cornice, and with the upper section filled with a gilded panel. It is owned by Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., of Cambridge.

A glass of the same period is shown in Illustration 391, with the glass in two sections, separated by a gilt moulding. The sides of the frame are made in a double column, ending at the division in the glass. The frame continues from there in a bracket effect, with a heavy cornice above, and is more classical in design than one with twisted columns. This looking-glass is owned by the writer.

The glass in Illustration 392 is owned by Dwight M. Prouty, Esq. The frame is gilt, and the heavy drapery is carved in wood and gilded.

The richest and largest form of the looking-glass with a projecting cornice is shown in Illustration 393. It is nearly the height of the room as it rests upon a low shelf. The plain surface of the columns at the side is broken by ornaments, and there are no capitals, but the same round moulding with ornaments extends across the frame between the heavy overhanging cornice and the top section, which is very large, with scrolls and a basket of flowers in high relief, in gilt. This fine looking-glass belongs to George W. Holmes, Esq., of Charleston, South Carolina.

The glass with a heavy frame in Illustration 394 belongs to the writer. Looking-glasses were made in this style of mahogany also, with pillars twisted, fluted, or carved with the acanthus leaf.

The glass was sometimes divided in two sections, separated by a narrow moulding, and the upper section was often filled by a gilded panel, as in Illustration 390. The frame at the head of Chapter II shows a looking-glass owned by Mr. Bigelow. The panel above the glass is gilded, and its design, of a cornucopia, was extremely popular at this period. The upper section was frequently filled with a picture painted upon glass. A looking-glass with such a picture is shown in Illustration 31, and another, owned by Mrs. H. H. Bigelow of Worcester, heads Chapter I.

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