Accession No
0486
Brief Description
spectacles, temple and case, JC, 1825-6
Origin
Birmingham; England
Maker
JC
Class
optical
Earliest Date
1825
Latest Date
1826
Inscription Date
Material
metal (silver); glass
Dimensions
length 119mm; breadth 29mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased in Christchurch, Hants. in 01/1929.
Inscription
[B anchor J.C. sovereigns head] (silver marks on left and right side pieces)
[J.C. lion passant] (silver marks on bridge)
‘J. BYROM’ (on case)
Description Notes
Silver frames; convex oval lenses with green tinted glass. Sliding double side-pieces with ring ends. C-bridge. Slip case in silver.
(Maker ? Carfield.John entered 1803-7, or Cook.John entered 1819.)
Condition: good/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:42701
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