The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1891-11-24
FACTS ABOUT MIRRORS,
History of the Looking Glass Traced Back
to the Ancients.

10 aucleuts.
The earliest mirrors Of which mention
is made, so Washington Star reporter
is informed, were In use among the Israeli
ties In the time of Moses. That gentle
man. as recorded In the Bible. commanded
In certain emergency that these
articles should be transformed into wash
basins for the priests. They were made
OF brass. Doubtless simalar utensils OF
this and other materials were In use long
before that. At that same period black
glass was employed for the purpose, as
we'll as transparent glass with black foil
on the back. II Is related that the
Spaniards found mirrors Of polished black
stone, both convex and concave. among
the natives Of South America.
The mirrors Of the ancient Greeks and
Romans we're thin disks OF bronze. highly
polished and usually fashioned with
handles, though sometimes they were set
upright on stands. Later on silver was
used and the first mirror OF solid silver Is
said to have been made by Praxiteles In
the time OF Julius Cesar. Subsequently
silver mirrors took the place Of brass or
bronze ones almost altogether, though
steel. copper and even gold were also en-
ployed. Looking glasses" OF metal
were employed everywhere up to the tif-
teenth century.
From the twelfth to the fifteenth century
small mirrors carried In the pocket or at
tached to the girdle were regarded as In
dispensible adjuncts to ladies' toilets.
The pocket mirror was circular plaque
OF polished metal fixed In a shallow box
and covered with lid. Ivory was usually
the material Of such cases, and. as a rule,
they were carved In relief with represen-
tations OF love, domestic scenes. hunting
sports and the like. Gold, silver, enamels
and ebony were likewise used as mate
rials. The sort of mirror worn at the
girdle had no cover, but was provided
with short handle.
In the Middle Ages, when steel and sill
YER mirrors We're almost exclusively used,
q method Of backing glass for the same
purpose with thin sheets OF metal was
known. Small convex mirrors OF glass
we're made In Germany before the six
teenth century and were In demand until
comparatively modern times. They were
produced by blowing small glass globes.
into, which. while they were hot, was
passed through a pipe a mixture OF tin,
antimony and resin. When the globe was
coated inside 1t was allowed to cool and
was afterward cut into convex lenses,
which formed small but well defined
images.
Early In the sixteenth century a manu-
factory OF glass mirrors was first estab-
lished on a commercial scale In Venice
and the Republic enjoyed q monopoly OF
this very profitable business for $50 years.
The makers OF looking glasses formed an
important corporation among themselves
and were allowed unusual privileges.
Their process was to blow cylinders Of
Ill aft Ard Hatt
upon q stone, carefully polished and sill
vered on the back with an amalgam. In
this way large ones were produced some
times measuring as much as four feet in
length. The secret was carefully guarded,
and the laws were enforced which declared
that any workman at the trade who
carried his art to a foreign State must
return upon requlsition on penalty OF
Imprisonment for his nearest relatives.
IL, Notwithstanding this penalty, he re-
fused to return emissaries were sent TO
kill him. Nevertheless, In 1865 Colbert, at
that time Prime Minister of France, i'm
ported from Venice twenty makers OF
looking glasses. who set up their busi-
ness In Fauberg st. Antoine. Before long
the French mirrors excelled the Venetian,
and fresh impulse was given to the art
In 1891 by the discovery OF process for
making plate glass. From that time TO
this the looking glasses made In France
have been the beet In the world.
Hand mirrors OF metal are still In COM
mon use In oriental countries. In China
and Japan they are usually made OF bronze,
slightly convex and about twelve inches
In diameter.
The Japanese woman who Is so fortu-
nate "a TO own mirror regards IL "a the
most precious OF her possessions. There
lie an ancient myth 10 the effect that the
japanese sun goddess once became angry
and shut herself up In her cave so that all
the earth was dark. To entice her from
her concealmcnt the other gods tried va
rious articles. but all In vain, until it oc-
Cured to them to construct q mirror, by
which. when the sun goddess saw her in
it, she was drawn forth through jealousy
and curiosity. When the Japanese Empire
first came into existence the sun goddess
gave the mirror TO her grandson. saying.
Look upon this az my spirit; keep IL in
the same house with yourself and worship
IL as IL IL were my actual presence" This
mirror is TO this day the most important