Accession No

0560

Brief Description

four lens spectacles, temple double, by Harris, English, 1830 (c)

Origin

England; London; Holborn

Maker

Harris

Class

optical

Earliest Date

1830

Latest Date

1830

Inscription Date

Material

metal (silver); glass

Dimensions

length 117mm; breadth 26mm; thickness 15mm

Special Collection

Robert Whipple collection

Provenance

Purchased from Ashby Art Galleries, Ashby Street, Cape Town on 22/07/1929.

Inscription

[JW; lion passant; (?)crown] (hall mark on both side-pieces)
‘HARRIS HOLBORN’ (on inside of frame)
‘Samuel Bland, Ship...’ (on outside of frame)

Description Notes

Spectacles, temple double, Harris, 1830 (c).

Silver. Oval frames, convex lenses. Wide C-bridge; double lenses hinged at the front. Move through 270˚ to be parallel with side pieces when not in use. Pivoted side pieces.

Condition: good; 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:42567