Optical Antiques

An online collection of items relating to the fields of optics, the eye and vision

[profusegrandiosity]

Shagreen Case with Original Spectacles, 19th Century.

[opticalantiques]

Early 19th Century Spectacles

Spectacles. Nickel silver frame. C-bridge. Centre joints. Sliding sides with teardrop tips. Side extensions loose. Round eyes. Glazed with glass lenses. Small circular patch of L lens had been ground down towards the nose both front and back to produce area with lower power. R: +6.00DS, L: Centre of lens +3.00DS, Periphery +6.00DS.

Sides for spectacles only started being used in the 1720s. Initially they were short with loops on the end to hold them under a wig. The above spectcles have sides that extend in length with a sliding mechanism. Curls behind the ear didn’t start to appear until the 1830s and the drop style that we’re used to now didn’t become popular until the early 20th Century!

These specs are interesting in that the central part of the lens has been ground down on the front and back to give a different power to the rest of the lens. One possible reason could be to ‘balance’ the lens if the wearer had one eye that needed a stronger prescription to the other. As the lenses are made of glass, the weight difference between the two would be quite large.

[tea-and-skeletons]

[opticalantiques]

tea-and-skeletons:

Scleral Contact Lenses

These contacts date back to around 1945. They come with their original protective case and the natural rubber suction cup used to install and remove the lenses. 

Scleral contact lenses like these are still used for the treatment of certain ocular conditions today (although they are no longer made of perspex like these probably are). The design of the suction cup used for removal hasn't changed much either!

[opticalantiques]

Protective Spectacles

Protective spectacles/goggles. Rusted metal frame. W-bridge. Wire curl sides with end stumps. Oval eyes with Oval eyes glazed with smoke-tinted lenses.  Adjustable side visors of fine wire mesh. Also paper-covered cardboard slip top case. Early 20th C.

Not sure how safe I'd feel wearing these but they're better than nothing!

[opticalantiques]

Binoculars

Binoculars, black-painted brass and metal draw tubes. Central focusing wheel with textured grip. Matt finish painted bell-shaped barrel coverings. With suspension loop for strap (missing).

Almost immediatly after the the 17th century invention of the telescope, people started to explored the advantages of mounting two of them side by side for binocular vision. The binoculars above use Galilean optics providing an upright image but relatively small field of view. This pair would most likley have been used by theatre audiences to magnify detail on stage.

[opticalantiques]

Trial Lens Case and Trial Frame

Wooden trial lens case lined with velvet and containing 40 Spherical and12 Plano-Cylindrical glass lenses, One Occluder, One Stenopaic Slit. Double Drop-cell trial frame. C-bridge. Engraved Axis scale, Joints at end of prominent lugs, Bowed straight sides with spatula tips. Produced by Down Bros. Ltd. Early 20th C.

There has been little change to this kit over the years - optometrists still use lenses and trial frames for assessing a patient's vision (although slightly more modern looking than this example).

[spiritofrevolution-blog]

Scissors glasses (lorgnette)

Round lens, silver gilt French scissors lorgnette, ca 1750.

This type of eyewear was popular with European men and women in the late 18th century; both George Washington and Napoleon used them. The delicate design of this pair is typical of the French style.

(From a slideshow by the Texas Optometric Association; the source link will take you to the first image in the slideshow.)

[opticalantiques]

Windsor Spectacles

Early 20th C. Windsor spectacles with combination frame. Gold-filled front with brown and yellow mottled Xylonite eyeframes. Bowed one-piece pad bridge with dark brown plastic pads. Split centre joints. Half-covered curl sides of rolled gold and Xylonite. Round eyes with glass lenses.

Your stereotypical 1920s glasses.

[opticalantiques]

Reproduction Rivet Spectacles

Reproduction pair of 14th C. rivet spectacles with wooden frame. Riveted bridge. String holds eyeframes together. Round eyes. Unglazed. Made in Leeds, UK, 2010.

This pair is a reporduction of some of the earliest corrective eyeware in existance. The design is very simple, consisting of two magnifiers riveted together at the handles which sat on the face by pinching the nose. There is some debate as to when spectacles first came into existance but general consensus places them in Italy around the turn of the 14th century. Oddly the idea to add sides stretching over the ear didn't come about until 400 years later!

[opticalantiques]

Hello World

Welcome to Optical Antiques - an online collection of items relating to the fields of optics, the eye and vision. Ok, so technically not every item shown on this page will be an antique but we liked the name. This gallery will be updated hopefully every Tuesday and Thursday with all sorts of items. We also welcome submissions: If you have something of optical interest you would like to show the world or that you have any questions about, please get in contact.