Guide to Repairing Box Bag Mirrors
by Karen Adler
I spent hours last week attempting to remove a rectangular mirror from a vintage Enid Collins box bag. I tried a variety of not-so-non-toxic mediums, pried the wood sides from the lids, remained oh-so-patient -- and broke the mirror. To help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made, here is everything I know about Collins box-bag mirror replacement.
Most Enid Collins box purses use a round 3 7/16 in. mirror. Photo by Karen Adler.
Sizing up the problem
Enid Collins box bag mirrors often become aged, broken, or completely missing. As simple as it may seem, replacing these mirrors is no easy feat.
Attempting to remove this Enid Collins box bag mirror was no fun, especially at the moment it cracked. Photo by Karen Adler, all rights reserved.
Enid Collins box bag mirrors were attached with a thick, black, tar-like adhesive. You can see that a mirror was re-attached at some point with a clear glue. Photo by Karen Adler, all rights reserved
In Search of a Vintage-quality Replacement
First, these mirrors come in three custom sizes - two rectangles and a circle. Second, the majority (if not all) of the mirrors are made from 1/16" thick glass mirror, which US glass suppliers simply no longer carry.
I've searched intermittently for several years now for 1/16" glass mirror and have found only the thicker and heavier 1/8" glass mirror. It's not uncommon to find 1/8" glass mirror replacements on Enid Collins box bags.
Last week, I went online and called a few more U.S. glass suppliers and they said they cannot get 1/16" glass mirror.
A rectangular mirror measuring 3 7/16 x 7 13/16 in. was used in many medium and large Enid Collins box bags. Photo by Karen Adler, all rights reserved.
A smaller 2 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. mirror was used on many of the small, rectangular box bags. Photo by Karen Adler, all rights reserved.
A promising possibility: acrylic
The promising news is I found out about a 1/16" thick acrylic mirror. I called a small family-run company, ZLazr, in Houston, Texas, whose rep said the process of making an acrylic mirror is identical to that of a glass mirror, just on acrylic. So I ordered a 3 1/2" round sample. And I'm waiting to see it for myself. I am also thinking about how replacing the glass mirrors with the acrylic mirrors effects the vintage-ness of the purse.
In the meantime, I read about ZLazr and its founder and president, Frankie Zamarron. Mr. Zamarron started the business five years ago when he was nine years old. At 14, he stated, "We are based here in the USA, we make everything here in the USA, our wood is bought in the USA, we were all born and raised in the USA and we are an American success story!"
So, Enid Collins.
with LOVE,
Karen