A circa mid 20th century French Style Mirror with side lithographs

Dated 1943
French mirror
History? Value in original condition

Description and history

This is a circa mid 20th century French Art Deco transitional Art Nouveau mirror. The mirror has two side lithographs with mirror in the center.  A lithographic process is a kind of printing from a plane surface (such as a smooth stone or metal plate) on which the image to be printed is ink-receptive and the blank area ink-repellent.

This kind of mirror was hand made, probably one of a kind. They weren’t mass produced, so there isn’t any manufacturer’s name (you can check the back if you can see a maker’s mark, but 99% of the times there are no mark).

The mirror has an exceptional quality gold decorated gesso border typical from that age. It is a perfect mirror for either a sofa mirror or an entrance mirror. This piece is super collectible an appreciated by collectors.

You can see a similar piece here:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/art-deco-nouveau-trumeau-mirror-1912436268

Appraisal Value ($)

– 350-450$

How to sell it

As this object is made from precious metals, some precautions are needed to sell it. Safety first, if you sell it directly to an individual, make sure you meet the potential buyer at a public place, for instance, a coffee shop. If you ship the object, please, make sure to use a fully-insured shipment method and specifically declare the value of the shipment goods in the forms. The increased insurance fee is an investment and most likely, mandatory all the time. If you have any doubt about the buyer, I would recommend to inmediatly decline the sale. It is really easy to sell this item, so it isn’t worth taking excessive risks.

To sell the items, I would recommend doing so through the internet. You have plenty of options, for instance:

– Ebay, Craiglist, Etsy, Facebook ads, Amazon marktplace

I would probably go ahead and take a couple of good pictures, like described here:

https://www.channelreply.com/blog/view/how-to-take-photos-for-ebay

Then I would use the provided description as a text to the ad, and an attractive ad title will make it.

There isn’t any special difference between selling it on Etsy, FB or Amazon. I would recommend to upload the same ad to at least two or three platforms. It will ensure a high visibility of the ad.

The asking price can be close to the value, it depends upon how fast you want to sell. In general, an agressive strategy of 20% price cut will work great, however it depends upon your specific location.

About the valuation method

To value this item I have considered the results from past auction sales. Keep in mind that the final price can be different from asking prices that you can find on the internet. You can see ads on the internet with different asking prices. However, a very high asking price doesn’t normally find cash from a buyer. 

That’s why our method comprises searching and comparing similar past sale results that had a buyer. That’s why we can provide an accurate estimation of this item.