Featured sterling mirror & Button with stones

hi folks

2 pieces of silver i bought from our local auction house

mirror worked out at about £15 with costs, button about £5

the pocket mirror is hallmarked wondering how old it could be, and possible maker

cant quite work out what kind of button it is, but very happy with it

presuming sterling, looks to have 2 marks that are too worn to work out (couldnt see them without a quick sunshine cloth wipe)

red and green stones, that dont look like glass to me

any help, info or thoughts, very much appreciated

 

Mirror case is American, Whiting Manufacturing . See this page. Note that there are 2 firms that have Whiting in the name. This is the second one.

https://www.925-1000.com/americansilver_W4.html

 

Here's a larger image of the Whiting Manufacturing mark from a different site.

 

The button may be Swedish which I suspect only on the basis of the "urn" mark seen on the right side of the picture. Check the Swedish entry here.

https://www.925-1000.com/foreign_marks6.html

 

Many thanks bakers, your an absolute star

Mirrors gotta be before 1926 then I guess, which is awesome

Never knew such fancy buttons existed

Yay reckon it might be a cloak clasp button ?

 

I bet that's a garnet and a green garnet. It's a bachelor button style.

 

I have no clue what the button would have come off of. Sorry.

 

The only bad thing about the pocket mirror, is that it doesn't pop shut anymore, the tab has been worn too much

But given age I'm not suprised

 

That makes sense thanks obb, I thought it was a ruby, but doesn't fluoresce under uv

Are these buttons quite common ?

 

Cool buys. I like them both. Is the button some kind of holding pin? It’s beautiful little thing.

 

My memory is what it used to be, but I can't recall seeing a silver 'peasant' button with a prong-back, and have to wonder if original - appears to be some 'repair' work (is there another mark/initials at the solder?), and are the prongs perhaps a different color? Would think intended as decoration for perhaps a hat, sash, or something, the prongs wouldn't take to being bent often for removal and replacement on a garment...

It's probably early to mid 19th century German, or maybe Austrian, or Nordic, or thereabouts - and not wanting to be negative, but the 'stones' are most likely Bohemian glass, the red and green were typical. Might be from Schleswig-Holstein, there were a few towns that used zig-zag edged triangular or shield shaped marks that look similar to the mark on the left (or at least, that's what I see with my old weak eyes) - an example for Kiel here: https://www.925-1000.com/Fgerman_marks_b1884_4.html


~Cheryl

 

Great info as always, thanks Cheryl

Indeed I think the prongs are a different material than the button itself, and would make absolute sense that they have been replaced at sometime

That's why I am not even going to touch them

I wouldn't rule out glass, the reason I think they are not is that they are quite cloudy inside

No other marks than the two pictured

 

Just an illusion near the red arrow?



~Cheryl

 

Good eyes Cheryl, definitely looks like another mark, and maybe another beside it that has worn more

A scratch it ain't.

Looks like an I an an upside down V

 

Something special about looking into old mirrors, imagining faces that would have looked into them 100 years ago with the same clarity

Probably more pretty with less of a beard

 

Oooo good thought, reckon I could turn that button into an adjustable ring with a ring mandrel, being careful like

 

Tempted to do it right know but will wait for others opinions, I think

 

Nope stems not long enough

 

Agree, a Schleswig-Holstein button, and definitely glass.
It is a fairly simple button for Northern German standards, probably from a man's vest or jacket. Men often wore two rows of ca six buttons down the front of their vest. And it would have had a regular button back.