Pier glass, empire style

Reverend William Bentley praised the looking glasses he saw on his 1801 visit to Oak Hill. He wrote in his diary: "The mirrors were large & gave full view of everyone who passed & were intended for the house in town but were exchanged as those for this seat were too large." Oak Hill's 1814 inventory lists in the dining room "a large looking glass @ $150," which may be the one displayed here. The account book of John Doggett, Roxbury gilder and looking-glass maker, documents Mrs. West's 1809 purchase of several looking glasses.