Eyeworld

EW IN OTHER NEWS 138 September 2016 ending in little cups. It's the 1859 Burt and Willard patent, which was a very important patent. [These glasses were] portable, convenient, tiny, and there are only five or six other pairs known in the world, making them rarer than most other styles. "Lincoln's glasses in the Library of Congress are literally a national treasure. They're so important and so rare, and no one had ever spent so much time researching and reporting on them. [Lincoln] sat for 118 sittings in his life and in seven a pair of glasses appear. In one of them he is actually wearing them and reading a book with his son, Tad. I studied those photos, and this second pair of glasses appear in those photos." Notable features When it comes to identifying an- tique spectacles, there are four fea- tures to note: the frame (is it round, oval, octagonal, rectangular?), the nose bridge design, the sidearm design (is it adjustable or single piece?), and the temple finial (how the glasses end). "If you know those four fea- tures, you can date any pair of eye- glasses from 1720 to about 1900," Dr. Fleishman said. Glasses before this time, ac- cording to Dr. Fleishman's website, have "round frames with a bow or C bridge, no sidearms, and therefore no finials." Raising awareness As he started to study antique spectacles more, reaching out to historical societies and others, Dr. Fleishman learned that many communities had a box or two of antique eyeglasses, but they were always in storage. As such, it is his mission to bring more information about these important artifacts to light. For example, Dr. Fleishman learned of a rare collection of more than 70 intricately carved eyeglass boxes, owned by a French woman, Madame Alfred Heymann, while reading her 1911 book, Lunettes et Lorgnettes de Jadis (translates rough- ly to "Opera Glasses and Glasses of Yore"). Dr. Fleishman called this book, which only had 300 printed copies, "one of the most interesting books ever written on the history of eyeglasses." The book features illus- trations of Madame Heymann's col- lection of carved eyeglass boxes, two of which Dr. Fleishman said date to 1558 and 1580. Unfortunately, this collection seems to have disappeared after her death in 1925. "Where are these treasures? Where are all of these carved cases?" Dr. Fleishman recalled asking him- self after reading this book. He later learned through his research that they were donated to different museums in Paris. Dr. Fleishman was able to identify these museums and located the boxes—in storage. "There was nothing out for the public to see," he said. Dr. Fleishman's goal in his re- search, aside from personal edifica- tion, is to bring the interest of these pieces back to life and potentially get them in the public eye again. "It's fun to work with people and help them discover little buried hidden treasures, optical treasures, that are coming to light that were not fully appreciated," Dr. Fleishman said. EW Contact information Fleishman: drdavid@antiquespectacles.com Retired continued from page 137 Glasses owned by President Abraham Lincoln were designed under the Burt and Willard patent. Dr. Fleishman called these spectacles some of the rarest in history. Source (all): David Fleishman, MD Intricately carved spectacle cases from Madame Alfred Heymann's collection were thought to have been lost after they were donated to various Paris museums after her death. Decades later, Dr. Fleishman was able to track down these treasures.

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