Cellulose nitrate hand mirror from dresser set owned by Lena Horne: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a hand mirror made of glass and semi-translucent orange bakelite plastic. The mirror is round with a long handle. The object has design accents of black and gold in art deco style on the back. On the front of the mirror's handle there is an engraving that reads "PAT.APL'DFOR / LA PARFAITE / AGALIN".

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: mid 20th Century
• Used by: Lena Horne, American, 1917 - 2010
• Manufactured by: Agalin, French
• Type: hand mirrors
• Medium: Bakelite (TM) and reflective glass
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 14 1/2 x 6 3/8 x 3/8 in. (36.8 x 16.2 x 1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2011.27.2.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.