Mirror, Mirror On The
Wall
Hello everyone!
It seems that I spoke
too soon about that nasty winter weather last week! Although I must say seeing the trees
completely covered in ice gives Wilmington a lovely winter-wonderland feeling. At least, until the ice starts to thaw and
smash on your windshield as you drive downtown… but I digress.
The month of February is
coming to a close, and March is just around the corner. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend a
tour of the Burgwin-Wright House. It’s a
home with a fascinating and distinctive history. However, since the month of March is soon upon
us, a rare opportunity has arisen. On
the first Friday of each month, the Burgwin-Wright House offers a candlelight
tour of the house. This tour differs from
the one offered throughout the day, and is given in the evening with all
electric lighting in the house turned off, and substituted with candles. This is a rare opportunity to experience a well-preserved
colonial home at night. The upcoming
candlelight tour is on March 6th at 7:30 PM.
One particular room that
I want to see in the glow of candlelight is the Library. I love the library because it is a room
dedicated to my favorite pastime: reading.
I also find the room fascinating because it houses an interesting
artifact called a Bull’s Eye Mirror. The
Mirror is located on the east wall of the room and placed above the fireplace.
This mirror is not just a looking glass- It is a convex mirror.
Now it might seem a bit
funny to find this kind of mirror in such a grand home considering my own
initial response was to ask why there was a fun house mirror in the house. But in the Colonial Era, these mirrors were
quite common in households because of their dual functionality. From an interior-decorating standpoint, the
mirror is really useful in illumination.
The reflection of the candle-light in the convex mirror lights up the
room in a spectacular way.
The mirror also serves another
completely different function. Owners of
Bull’s Eye Mirrors could use the convex nature of the mirror as a sort of
spyglass. Since the mirror is convex, it
gives an individual a view of the entire room without having to physically be
in the room. For instance, if a young
man was courting John Burgwin’s daughter in the library, he could keep an eye
on the young couple from the foyer!
Today, this particular
function of the mirror is used as a security method all around us. Although you might not spot a Bull’s Eye
Mirror in a modern day living room, you will commonly find them in buses,
driveways, parking garages, and in stairwells.
Although the colonial
era is far removed from my reality of fast cars and indoor plumbing, I really
appreciate the colonists’ cleverness in their craftsmanship.They took a simple
object most often used for the sake of vanity and fashioned it for a new
purpose. If you want to see for
yourself, I highly recommend coming to see the mirror on the candlelight tour
on March 6th. Yours truly
will be there and I hope to share this new experience of the Burgwin-Wright
House in a new light (pun intended).
The Bull's Eye Mirror in the Library
X
Alex
In-house sources
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