How do you clean the old mirror glass?

Use a soft cotton cloth lightly dampened with water. Avoid modern chemical glass cleaners as they can seep behind the frame and damage the fragile silvering. Dry the surface immediately with a second cloth. Leave the dark spots alone, as they aren't dirt and form part of the history.

I've inherited a mahogany one with three drawers from my grandmother, but the glass keeps swinging forward when I try to tilt it back. Is there an easy way to fix this?

The friction between the uprights and the frame has worn down over the years. This happens when the wooden pivots or brass tension screws lose their grip through decades of daily use. You can often resolve this by tightening the brass knobs on the side. If it has wooden pivots, placing a small washer of thin leather between the frame and the upright provides enough grip to hold the angle.

What is the purpose of the tiny drawers?

Cabinetmakers designed these small compartments to store daily grooming accessories. They kept the dressing table tidy. Some bases feature lockable central compartments. These provided a safe place to secure small personal items overnight.

There is a shield-shaped mirror attached to a chest of drawers I am looking at online, doesn't that mean they were always made as one single piece?

Most antique dressing mirrors were made as separate, portable items. People moved them between different tables or chests depending on the light in the room. During the late Victorian period, manufacturers began building chests with the glass permanently attached to the back. If you see a Georgian glass fixed to a chest, they're likely married together later.

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Victorian Dressing Mirrors

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Antique dressing mirrors are small, freestanding glass plates mounted on a base or stand, designed to sit on a tabletop or chest of drawers to aid with personal grooming and adjusting attire.