Optical Instruments > Spectacles & Eye Glasses

Lorgnette Eyeglasses Late 18th Century Tortoiseshell and Silver

Item#: OIS629

SOLD

 

The case is made from riveted real tortoiseshell and silver frame with fancy reinforced bridge and oval lenses. This is an Adams Style Lorgnette made in England under the name ‘Pocket Spectacles’. Invented by George Adams Jr. (1750 – 1795) in the form of a penknife and intended to be carried loose in the pocket. Provenance: From the Orr collection Inventory No. 147. Hugh Orr (1905 - 2002) was a collector and curator of the British Optical Association Museum. In 1985 he published the book ‘Illustrated History of Antique Spectacles’.