The Mirror: A History [Paperback]

Sabine Melchoir-Bonnet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2002

This engaging and witty cultural history traces the evolution of the mirror from antiquity to the present day, illustrating its journey from wondrous object to ordinary trinket. With its earliest invention, the mirror allowed us to gaze upon ourselves, bestowing a power both fascinating and terrifying.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tool of the devil, luxury item, optical device, decorative accessory, humble grooming aidAthe mirror, so commonplace today, has meant many things through the ages. This erudite meditation on the development and marketing of the mirror, and on its social and psychological implications, reveals how significantly the mirror has influenced Western culture. In its capacity both to reflect and to distort, to reproduce and to fragment, the mirror profoundly changed both notions of physical space and ideas of the self. Medieval thinkers feared the mirror's power to distort and to provoke pride and vanity; later, the looking glass was considered an aid for reaching self-knowledge. At the Court of Louis XV at Versailles, mirrors made social life "a theater of reflection and artifice"; by the 18th century, "the utopia of transparency helped to foster the birth of an egalitarian ideology." Mirrors opened up dark interiors, revealing hiddenAand sometimes troublingApoints of view, enabled artists to create self-portraits and confronted individuals with modern questions of self and image. Drawing on history, philosophy, theology, art, psychology and literature, Melchoir-Bonnet establishes the mirror's central contribution to visual culture. Her decision to organize her material thematically rather than chronologically sometimes compromises the clarity of her presentation, which will appeal most readily to those with a solid background in European history and thought. Nevertheless, this beautifully illustrated study offers so many intriguing glimpses into the meanings of reflection that it will reward anyone who peers beneath its surface.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Imagine life without mirrors. It wasn't long ago that only the wealthy could check their appearances, Melchoir-Bonnet explains in this brisk, surprising, and enjoyable history. She describes the small and precious polished stone and metal mirrors of antiquity and the crafting of the first sizable glass mirrors in sixteenth-century Venice, where a mirror cost nearly three times as much as a painting by Raphael. Mirrors quickly became all the rage among European nobility, and Melchoir-Bonnet relates some amazing tales of industrial espionage and skullduggery associated with France's effort to establish its own mirror-making factories to meet the decadent demands of Louis XIV. Melchoir-Bonnet also explores the profound symbolism associated with the looking glass in a richly metaphorical inquiry that illuminates the realms of religion, magic, philosophy, literature, art, and science. Socrates encouraged people to learn from what they saw in the mirror; the church warned against vanity and lasciviousness; while writers and artists celebrated beauty even as they pondered the pitfalls of illusion and the valuing of image over substance. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (February 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415924480
• ISBN-13: 978-0415924481
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #584,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A history of the mirror in France, January 25, 2002

By 

Pat Lamken (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mirror: A History (Hardcover)

Even though mirrors are a commonplace of everyday life and an essential part of modern technology, suprisingly little has been written about them, making this charming little book a welcome addition. It might more accurately have been subtitled "A history of the mirror in France" since it concentrates almost exclusively on that country. Subjects include the manufacture of mirrors, their use in decoration, art, literature, theology, and most especially their psychological effect on self-image - and of course their erotic implications. The author says virtually nothing about optics or technology, and the illustrations are few and poorly done. This is not a must-have book, but if you are interested in mirrors, French culture, or cultural history, it is worth reading, and would be an appropriate gift for the mirror-obsessed individual in your family.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gem of deep color, April 20, 2008

By 

Sunny Sage (Bloomington, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mirror: A History (Paperback)

For anyone given to introspection, this is a gem. It exposes places in the heart by sourced authors from centuries ago, when human nature was far more commonly understood than it is today. The corporate rivalries in seventeenth century Europe are of interest if only to show that commerce flourished without the gasoline engine, air freight, UPS, or asphalt roads. And rivalries the size of Microsoft/Apple are not new. I enjoyed this book immensely.