EDWARD SCARLETT'S TEMPLE SPECTACLES. . . . The first type of eyeglasses held on the face with temple arms. Before Edward Scarlett patented these spectacles in 1727, reading aids were hand held. The spectacles and the metal case are in excellent condition. A rare and unusual find. Please e-mail for price. Photo.

MARTIN'S MARGINS...Benjamin Martin, a London optician, is credited with making the first eyeglasses that corrected vision in addition to being a reading aid. He published an essay in 1756 in which he explained his theories that the common spectacle was "prejudicial to the eye" because the large lens then in use allowed too much "light to enter the eye." Martin made spectacles in which one third of the lens opening was filled with the horn of the Ox and in which the "lens tilted inwards so that the axes of the eye converged on the object of regard." Examples are very hard to find and rarely come to market. Click for photos.
Betweem 1780 and 1820 the wealthy could order Martin's Margins made from coins (Coin Silver). Usually the margins of such spectacles were made from tortoise shell instead of Ox horn.

RARE 18TH CENTURY SPECTACLES . . . Most 18th Century spectacles were made from iron and brass. A few were made from gold and silver. Frames on this page date between 1727 and 1820-30. Around 1830 machines were developed to stamp out eyeglass frames. From that time forward few frames were made by hand. All frames made before 1830 were custom made on order. Frames from this period are difficult to find in good condition.

SCISSORS GLASSES…. George Adams, Fleet Street London, patented scissor glasses in 1780. His scissor frames were made from silver and folded into a tortoise shell handle. George Washington used a pair. Napoleon also used scissor glasses. Napoleon's were made from gold with a mother-of-pearl handle. Scissor glasses were popular in the French Court from 1785 to 1799. French scissor glasses are more delicate, ornate, and more of a fashion accessory.

AMERICAN REVOLUTION ERA EYEGLASSES….. At the time of the American Revolution nearly all eyeglasses in the Colonies came from England and Europe. The standard lens shape at that time was round. However, oval lenses had recently been introduced. The American Major-General Israel Putnam made a point of wearing the new oval lenses so that his spectacles "did not look as those of my enemy." His glasses are now owned by the New York Historical Society. Other colonists did the same including Benjamin Franklin. Franklin marked his glasses "B. Franklin 1773." I recently purchased an extensive collection of 18th century spectacles that included a pair of American Revolutionary War era spectacles in a steel case dated 1777. Only one other dated case from this era is known to exist. It is dated 1761. You can see images of this case and spectacle types in use during the revolution in the book, "Collectors Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution" pages 246 and 247. The book is written by George C. Neumann and Frank J. Kravic. Click for photos

17th CENTURY QUIZZING GLASSES….Before eyeglasses were invented in 1727, reading aids were hand held. These reading aids had several names: Quizzing Glass, Prospect Glass, and Lorgnettes. Lorgnettes later came to be the name of a reading aid with two lenses. Quizzing glasses used by common folks had a brass frame and a crudely ground lens. Many were made in Nuremberg, Germany. The wealthy had quizzing glasses made from gold and silver, often fancily engraved. Although quizzing glasses can date anytime from the mid 13th century onward, most found today were made between 1600 and 1880. It is much more difficult to find the quizzing glasses of the common folk as it is to find those made of gold or silver for the wealthy.

MONOCLES. . . . .Real vintage monocles were custom made for the original owner. A cast was made of the bone structure between the eyebrow, cheek, and nose. This cast was used to create a mold to form a gallery. The gallery served to keep the monocle in place without deforming the face and to extend the lens forward to make room for the eyelash. A properly fitted monocle did not fall out and was not uncomfortable to wear. The gallery can be reformed by a jeweler through heating and bending. However, the fit will never be as good as that of a monocle gallery formed by a mold. Monocles were expensive in their day. Relatively few were made and they are scarce today.

DOUBLE FOLDING WIG SPECTACLES . . . . These spectacles represent the first improvement over the Scarlett, 1727, patent. They usually date between 1727 and 1740. I have one pair in stock. The spectacles are in excellent condition and the case is in good condition. Please e-mail for price .Photo.

CHINESE SPECTACLES. . . . Chinese spectacles with their original shagreen case. The spectacles are in excellent condition. The frames appear to be made from a steel alloy. The shagreen case is in fantastic condition. The only damage is slight cracking and a small sliver of the interior wood is missing. Please e-mail for price Photo.

OPERA GLASSES. . . . . Opera glasses were introduced around 1800. By 1850, they were refined to the type most commonly found today. They are of two styles, hard and folding bridge. The hard bridge style came in three sizes, small, medium, and large. The folding bridge solved the problem of pupil distance with a hinged bridge. However, they also came in sizes small to large. Opera and theater was the entertainment of the Victorian and Edwardian periods (mid 1800's through 1920). Even small towns had an Opera House. Opera glasses became a fashion statement for the well to do woman and were often sold by jewelry stores since functionality did not matter. Opera glasses are heavily gilded, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, enameled, engraved, and sometimes decorated with miniature paintings. The better examples were made in France and England.

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