Polished metal served as the earliest mirror long before glass mirrors became widespread.

The longer version

Long before glass, people saw themselves in polished metal. Bronze, copper and later steel can be ground flat and buffed until they return a recognisable image, though the reflection is dimmer and warmer than modern glass, since metal absorbs part of the light instead of sending nearly all of it back. Bronze also dulls quickly, so such mirrors needed constant polishing.

Metal mirrors were costly and heavy, and their surfaces degraded with handling, so owning one suggested some means. Glass backed by metal changed that by burying the reflective surface where it could not be scratched. The trade-off is still visible: front-surface mirrors used in optics give a cleaner image but are easily damaged by a fingerprint.

Where this entry sits

Odd Little Things looks at the ordinary objects people touch every day and the small mechanisms and histories hiding inside them. Buttons, zips, pencils, mirrors, stairs, stamps, packaging, and road signs all get their turn. The full list sits on the Odd Little Things page, where every entry is listed in order.