How many shaving mirrors come up for sale?

Only about five a year reach the market on Sellingantiques, from an archive of 68 listings in total. The spread is wide: 47 different dealers have listed one. Almost nobody carries them as a speciality, which is why stock arrives in ones and twos rather than runs.

What wood are they usually made from?

Mahogany is the commonest material named, appearing in 23 of the 68 titles. After that the field opens out. Walnut turns up on folding campaign mirrors, and there are satin birch, oak and ebonised examples, plus a Swedish birch vanity mirror and a Dutch marquetry swing mirror.

Which periods do these mirrors come from?

The dated field runs from 1800 to 1940, with 28 listings carrying a clean year. The 1940 piece, a brass shaving table mirror, is the latest thing in the archive. Where decades are given they gather in the second half of the 19th century and around 1900. Nearly half the listings, though, are dated only to a century or a reign, with "19th Century" the single largest label at 15.

Are shaving mirrors ever signed by a maker?

Rarely. Across 68 listings, not one produced a maker's name that more than a single dealer echoed. A few titles carry a name or a specific origin instead, among them a scientific optical mirror by a London instrument maker and two mirrors given as attributed to Brot.

Do listings give the size of the mirror?

Seldom. One listing in 68 states a size at all, and that one gives 24 inches. Dimensions are something a buyer has to seek out separately, since titles and descriptions in this category tend to lead on timber, form and period.

What are campaign shaving mirrors?

Folding portable mirrors made to travel, in walnut and mahogany. Four titles use the phrase "campaign kit" or "folding campaign", with two more described as travelling shaving stands. They account for a handful of listings and sit near the bottom of the range.