+ AMERICAN 
WwW 
length of the mantel-shelf, 
were very fashionable in 
England and America. 
The division of the glass 
was designed to save the 
expense of a large piece. 
In the historic mirror 
shown here the panels are 
separated by gilt columns, 
while the frame itself is of 
gilt with lattice border 
and figure in the center. 
These old mirrors and 
ornaments differ much in 
shape and size, according 
to the cabinetmaker who 
designed the mirror. 
The descendants of 
Dudley Pickman, a mer- 
chant prince, whose for- 
tunes were connected with 
the early life of this seaport town, cherish a fine old looking- 
glass which was once among the home furnishings of the old 
captain. This oblong gilt mirror, with its fluted pillars, 
heavy overhanging cornice and painted scene of classic war- 
fare, is typical of the substantial frames much in vogue early 
in the last century. Scenes from the War of 1812 and land- 
scapes were also frequently used. 
Whenever one comes across the eagle in decoration of 
old furniture he may be fairly sure that it belongs to the 
period following the Revolution, when the eagle became the 
national emblem. Mirrors made at this time often show 
this device, as in the case of this superb old girandole, which 
hangs in another old Salem home, and is the facsimile of one 
which reflected courtly Colonial dames with their powder 
and patches and ballroom array in Hamilton Hall, the his- 
toric assembly hall of Salem. ‘‘ This circular, convex glass 
in the gilt frame ” should, strictly speaking, be referred to as 
a mirror, for a careful distinction was made in Colonial 
times between ‘“‘ mirrors”? with convex or concave surfaces 
and looking-glasses of plain glass. “The girandole ” takes 
its name from its branching candlesticks, and sometimes the 
backing of the candles was 
colored glass, which must 
have sparkled gorgeously at 
night. ‘This fantastic and 
elaborate gilt girandole, with 
its handsome acanthus leaf 
design, has candelabra of 
delicate and airy design, and 
the eagle on top holds fes- 
toons of gilt balls, which 
drop over the upper part of 
the frame in a unique fash- 
ion, more decorative than 
durable. 
Another use of the eagle 
is the so-called ‘‘ Constitution 
mirror,” which nearly always 
has the national emblem in 
plaster or carving crowning 
the mirror. Especially hand- 
some is the Constitution mir- 
ror in the writer’s family in 
Salem. This has been in- 
herited from an earlier an- 
cestor, Captain John Har- 
rod, of Newburyport. By 
the rarest good fortune this 
mirror was rescued from the 
A. Looking-Glass 
in Mr. Etheridge’s House 
Salem, Mass. 
HiOWGES 
Mrs. Nathan Osgood’s Mirrors 
AND: GARDENS January, 1906 
ancestral home, which was 
burned to the ground in 
the terrible fire of 1811, 
which swept away a large 
portion of the business and 
residential portion of the 
town. A devoted negro 
servant succeeded in sav- 
ing the mirror and an old 
yellow pitcher, the only 
household furnishings res- 
cued from this disastrous 
destruction of a Colonial 
mansion. 
This mirror is of ma- 
hogany with gilded dra- 
pery at the sides, and a 
pediment and broken arch 
at the top, surmounted by 
an eagle, which betokens 
the name attached to it. 
A severer type of mirror, also with the eagle as its chief 
ornament, is the historic one which belongs to the Ethridge 
family in Salem. Still another old glass, treasured as an 
historical relic by a Salem family, shows a gilded frame with 
a medallion face at the top and winged dragons at the upper 
corners. 
A potent and mysterious charm clings to all old mirrors 
that have reflected a past which the keenest imagination can 
conjure up only dimly. But more significant is their beauty 
of design and remarkable handicraft, which our modern 
mirrors sadly lack. 
The modern mirrors, however, differ so widely in design, 
and even in use, from the old mirrors, that it is scarcely fair 
to compare the two. The modern mirror, in most instances, 
has been made chiefly for its reflecting surface. The old 
mirrors were, in many cases, thoroughly decorative objects, 
with handsome frames that often commanded the services 
of skilled workmen, and even with painted surfaces. The 
old mirrors thus had a real place of their own in the fur- 
nishings of the house which the modern mirror seldom fills, 
and is, perhaps, never intended to have. Many of the older 
Mirrors sare ©O tf 
small size, due, of 
course, to the in- ee 
ability to produce SSS 
kat ge) pieces ‘of 
glass. They were 
thus readily adapt- 
able to almost any 
situation in any 
room, and are 
thus, very happily, 
suited to modern 
needs and condi- 
tions, which they 
meet to-day quite 
as well as when 
first made. 
The collecting 
of old mirrors, 
while long neg- 
lected, is now pur- 
sued by many loy- 
ers of old furni- 
ture. Many of 
them are charac- 
terized by real 
beauty and distinc- 
tion. 
Cerne na rE TEE PIE 
An 1810 Looking-Glass 
Belonging to 
Mr. Dudley Pickman 
