Accession No
2651
Brief Description
spectacles, earloops and case, by Stercks Martin, English, 1940 (c)
Origin
England; London; 43 New Cavendish Street, W1
Maker
Martin, Stercks
Class
optical
Earliest Date
1940
Latest Date
1940
Inscription Date
Material
plastic; metal (gold); glass; hide (leather)
Dimensions
length of case 140mm; breadth 58mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Inscription
‘STERCKS MARTIN
43, NEW CAVENDISH ST.
W.1.’ (inside case)
‘[logo] WINDSOR 5115[S]A’ (on bridge)
Description Notes
Spectacles, earloops and case, by Stercks Martin, English, 1940 (c)
Black plastic frames; flexible gold earloops and bridge. Round lenses. W bridge. Slip case; leather.
Complete.
References
Events
Description
Spectacles
Usually consisting of a pair of lenses held in a frame, spectacles may have originated in the ancient civilizations of China and the Mediterranean, but early forms were crude. It was only in the 18th century that the grinding of lenses became sufficiently advanced to make then really effective for correcting sight defects. In order to correct for near sightedness, the lenses must be concave, which diverges the rays of light (angles them apart), and for long sightedness they must be convex, to angle the rays of light together.
Spectacles are not solely used for defective eyesight; the Inuit and the Yupik use wooden spectacles with very small slits in them to reduce the glare from snow and ice.
FM:42560
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