Can the tilt be tightened?

Most antique dressing table mirrors use brass friction hinges. You tighten these by turning the wooden finials or a small brass knob on the side of the upright. If the thread is worn out, a restorer can pack the joint or replace the internal brassware. It's a routine repair.

My grandmother left me one with three little drawers but one of the brass handles has snapped off, can I replace it?

Replacement handles are widely available from specialist brass founders. You'll need to measure the distance between the two mounting holes on the drawer front. Taking off the broken handle will show the original colour of the wood underneath. Many people replace the whole set to ensure they match, keeping the broken original in the drawer.

How to clean mercury glass?

Dust the surface gently with a dry cloth. Don't spray modern glass cleaners directly onto the plate. Moisture can seep behind the frame and damage the silvering. Dark spots are trapped inside the glass sandwich. You shouldn't try wiping them away.

The mirror part seems really heavy and it keeps swinging forwards so it faces the floor no matter what I do, how do I fix this?

The pivot points often wear down after decades of use. Sometimes the wooden friction blocks inside the uprights have shrunk or perished. A temporary fix involves placing a small rubber washer between the frame and the upright. A cabinetmaker can rebuild the internal wooden blocks properly.

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Antique Dressing Table Mirrors

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Designed to sit atop a larger piece of furniture, an antique dressing table mirror usually consists of a silvered glass plate suspended between two upright supports on a box base.