The original mirror is an American Chippendale mirror made sometime in the late 1800’s. My wife received it from Marguerite Emily Davis, of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, who was her maternal grandmother’s older sister. It had originally been a wedding gift to Marguerite’s parents William Aquilla Davis (1855 – 1911) and Hattie A. Haskell (Feb 6, 1858-1929). William Aquilla Davis (named, we suppose, for the Revolutionary soldier) was a New Hampshire granite quarryman who cut stone for the Library of Congress which, in 1897, was moved to a new building east of the Capitol. His initials are carved into the stone of the Library. Hattie had worked in Concord, Massachusetts as the paid companion to Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), author of the book Little Women, prior to marrying William. This must have been in Alcott’s later years (though she was only 56 at her death) when she returned home from her work as a Union Army nurse in the Civil War and following the success of her book, Little Women, which provided her with the financial security to afford a paid companion. #antique_mirror #Chippendale #mirror
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