Created by McKenzie Christopher on Mon, 12/11/2023 - 14:17
Description:
While this vanity is French, it is a great example of what Miss Havisham's mirror may have looked like in real life. This table is currently prices at 2,800 American Dollars (about 2,224 Pounds) which would have been about 120 American Dollars (about 95 Pounds) in 1812, which is when the beginning of Great Expectations took place. To give viewers a better understanding of how expensive this vanity would have been, in the mid-1860's a common labourer would have made about 3 shillings and 6 pence for a 60 hour work week (Skipper). It would have take this common labourer about 543 weeks, or about 10.5 years, to make enough money to afford this vanity. And that would be if they only used their money to save up, this doesn't account for any other expenditures they might have had.
Work Cited
French Chateau Gold Console Table & Mirror, Thundersley Interiors, 2023, http://thundersleyinteriors.com/french-chateau-gold-console-table-mirror/.
Skipper, James, and George P. Landow. Wages and Cost of Living in the Victorian Era, The Victorian Web, 16 July 2003, http://www.victorianweb.org/economics/wages2.html.