Featured Antique vanity mirror - silver? Age?

Hi,
I found this while at a thrift store today. I did an image search & found the exact one on Etsy, but going there it said 'this item is no longer available ' (not sold, just not available)
I've found other similar ones & their asking prices are in the $900 range (I paid $29 for mine), so I'm very interested in learning more about it!
The others were silver, but I can't tell what mine is?
There is a small ribbon like piece on the bottom right of the mirror that says
1874 J. & M.S. 1899
Is that the artist?
is this It's age/time period it's was made?
Any help & any thoughts in it would be greatly(!) appreciated!
Thanks

 

25th wedding anniversary (of John/James & Mary Sue?)

 

Google also shows this pic that seems to be from the same mirror

Henry Matthews, Birmingham 1898?

 

Sigh. I remember when you could pick those up for pennies . Its lovely,but those things are a bear to polish .

 

Maybe!

 

Do you know where on mirror & I will look?

 

Magnifying the pics makes them blurry so I can't see where it is, but it's near a screw, so for you it should be easy to find.

 

Henry Matthews Birmingham 1898 shows a political figure - during jack the rapper's reign!
https://www.jack-the-ripper.org/sir-henry-matthews.htm

 

But there's another one when I added silversmith, whew!

https://www.acsilver.co.uk/shop/pc/Henry-Matthews-b403.htm

 

I'll look, thank you

 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-the-Rapper-1688370

 

I think it could be in this bit

 

@journeymagazine, From what I think I found on your mirror, I've circled (#1 in RED) where I think the
ribbon you're looking for is BELOW. Please IGNORE #2 circle....I thought I saw another date......sorry!!

​

 

Thank you!

 

Thank you!

 

I think I found it!!
If you look under my fingertip you will see a boat anchor.
To the left of it I can see a letter M and then a H.
To the right of the anchor (but more covered with dirt?) there is a W (that looks like a upside down M?) and maybe a H again?
So is this silver (sterling?)? And more importantly, is this by Henry Mathews?!
Thank you for all the help - I greatly appreciate it!
PS - forgive my dirty fingers; I was emptying out my car to make room to take a Trek Madone 6.5 to be boxed up & shipped to a eBay buyer (and I still have a Trek Y-foil carbon fiber bike found with the Madone in a storage unit my friend won at auction!)

 

Yay! And yes, it looks like Birmingham, Henry Matthews and the 1898 year letter. And of course it is silver.

 

Thank you Any Jewelry!
When listing do U say silver, or can I say sterling (did they have sterling name back then) ?
Also (sorry) - do I call it a vanity mirror - which sounds like a larger one to me for some reason - or can I say table top mirror, maybe?

 

Yes, you can say sterling, and they had sterling back then.

The term sterling comes from the Dutch word 'oosterling', easterner. 'Pond oosterling' (pound easterner) referred to silver coins from the German lands, which always had a reliable fineness and were used by many Dutch traders in the Middle Ages.
Germany is to the east of the Netherlands, hence oosterling - easterner.

When the 'pond oosterling' was introduced in England by Dutch traders, the English thought it said '00sterling', and decided to ditch what they thought were two zeros.
And thus Pound Sterling was born, as well as sterling fineness for silver items, which were often made from reliable silver coins.

 

Great info!!