Accession No
0519
Brief Description
spectacles, temple (’Martin’s Margins’), 1750-1800
Origin
Maker
Class
optical
Earliest Date
1750
Latest Date
1800
Inscription Date
Material
metal (steel); organic (horn); glass
Dimensions
length 110mm; breadth 37mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased from T.H. Court on 28/05/1927.
Inscription
Description Notes
spectacles, temple, 1750-1800
Steel frames with inner rims of horn. Double pivoted side pieces. Round convex lenses. Broad C-bridge.
This type of spectacles are commonly known of as Martin's Margins (after Benjamin Martin).
Condition: fair; 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:42698
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