The monocle took hold as a fashion accessory in the 1830s but has been known to have been in existence for longer. It's premise is the most simple way of attaching a lens to the face - hold it in place with your face muscles! Consisting originally of simply a lens surrounded by a wire, it was later often enhanced to provide a gallery that held it slightly further away from the eye and thus helped prevent your eyelashes hitting the lens.

Temples are the side arms of spectacles that go over, and often loop around, your ears. Some early spectacles did not have temples. The most well known example of that is pince nez.

Magnifying glasses have been known to exist from around 5BC. To go from having a magnifying glass to correct vision to a monocle, to spectacles, would seem a fairly natural and obvious step. However, ... [Read More]

Take two lenses designed to correct optical defects in the eye, join them together, and you have a device that can be balanced over the nose. In modern times it will, most often, come with arms (known... [Read More]

I don't particularly like the eyeglasses, but this ebay auction caught my eye. Mostly ... [Read More]

It's been a long time since I actively bought antique spectacles. Although I'm still proud of my collection and am working towards making this new site a good showcase for them. Nevertheless I still c... [Read More]