Magnifying Glass

[warsawdaddy]

Homemade or manufactured?This was used by one of my ancesters in 1790.He rode the hills of Va as a tax assesor.Nearly killed a few times.It's the original case(deerskin w/gut lacing?)

 

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[Mental Granny]

I can not imagine the value but, I love it!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Hello warsawdaddy,

This looks like something that would have been made in a spectacle shoppe of some sort. It certainly doesn't look to be "factory-made" or home-made" for that matter.

I would assume it is something that the original owner would have "special ordered", possibly because he had a bad eye. Though I am not an expert on antique eyeglasses, I do a lot of antique picking for dealers here in Southern Ontario and I have seen these things before.

Value would be somewhere in the range of $50 - $100, but as I said, I'm not an expert.

 

[warsawdaddy]

Hello warsawdaddy,

This looks like something that would have been made in a spectacle shoppe of some sort. It certainly doesn't look to be "factory-made" or home-made" for that matter.

I would assume it is something that the original owner would have "special ordered", possibly because he had a bad eye. Though I am not an expert on antique eyeglasses, I do a lot of antique picking for dealers here in Southern Ontario and I have seen these things before.

Value would be somewhere in the range of $50 - $100, but as I said, I'm not an expert.

Thank you.I forgot to mention that the glass is not flat,it is 'bowed'?It also has some small chipping around the edge that fits the frame .

 

[Tigershores]

The lens used by your ancestor was a common single Spherical Convex Magnifier used primarily before the invention of the "Bifocal" or Split Lens. The detailed history of the bifocal is found at:

http://www.antiquespectacles.com/topics/franklin/franklin.htm

It was not uncommon to find a gentlemen aged 40 to 50 with presbyopia (deminishing near vision from age) who had decent distant vision carrying a Loupe Magnifier for when he needed to perform near work or reading. It was alot easier to carry than a pair of reading glasses in your pocket while on horseback. Single lenses go back to 965AD. You can look up the history of Optical lenses at:

http://www.antiquespectacles.com/history/ages/through_the_ages.htm

Hope This Helps!

Tigershore
Florida Optician

 

[Tigershores]

Forgot to mention in last post....Definitely manufactured. These lenses required extensive polishing to get the correct refractive power. Pouch might have been hand made b y your ancestor to protect the highly polished lens.

Tigershores
Florida Optician

 

[Lucas]

Pretty typical 18th century form. Often called a burning glass. The sheet brass and wire frame is typical of English examples.

 

[jlasserton]

It looks like it could go either way. Whether it is hand-crafted or factory-made, the magnifying glass is awesome. I love the design. I would definitely keep it and not sell it!