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Thread: Antique Spectacles - Any collectors?

  1. #1
    OptiWizard
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    Antique Spectacles - Any collectors?

    Are there any fellow antique spectacle collectors on here?

    I get the feeling that most opticians do not collect old eyeglasses. I wonder why not? I think that the craftsmanship and evolution of our craft is amazing!

    If anybody else collects old eyeglasses, speak up, lets see what you got! What do you need? Want to trade?

    I'll show you mine if you show me yours!!!

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    I collect old surgical instruments and slit lamps. Not really actively looking, just keep the ones I come across. I have a Haag Streit from the 30's or 40's. Still in amazingly good shape.

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    Quote Originally Posted by phaco View Post
    I collect old surgical instruments and slit lamps. Not really actively looking, just keep the ones I come across. I have a Haag Streit from the 30's or 40's. Still in amazingly good shape.
    Do you limit your surgical collecting to ophthalmology only?

    This site may be of interest to you!

    http://antiquescientifica.com/catalog.htm

  4. #4
    OptiWizard
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    Here is another for you Phaco:

    http://eyeantiques.com/

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    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Gold Supporter Judy Canty's Avatar
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    I have a small collection, though since I closed my shop they're packed away.

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    Quote Originally Posted by CuriousCat View Post
    I have a small collection, though since I closed my shop they're packed away.
    Anything really rare, unique, interesting?

  7. #7
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Gold Supporter Judy Canty's Avatar
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    Not so much, a few folding lorngnettes, driving goggles and the assorted 18th through 20th century models. But I like them.

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    lens-o-matic bhess25's Avatar
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    i have 20,000 frames from the 40's to the late 80's...the guy that owns the lab im at bought the place from his old boss (my boss started there when he was 18, it was his first and only job he ever had...pretty cool story huh?) anyway, they never sold all of the frames they had, hell these are the ones that come with the fronts in one box and the temples in another, covered in paper. but those things have some heavy duty temple hinges, the big barrel ones. we even have safety glasses from those eras. I thought about getting ahold of a buddy of mine who builds movie sets and see if he could hook me up with a connect in hollywood to make vintage glasses for the movies, thats about all i could think of for those things. i keep telling my boss im gonna get an gold membership on here and take pics of them and sell them, there all brand new 70 year old frames!! some look pretty cool, most are the old plastic ones though, i do have some metal but not much. i like going in there and looking at them, some look really cool, and you can see how well made they were back before china made everything.
    equal opportunity offender!!

  9. #9
    Underemployed Genius Jacqui's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bhess25 View Post
    i have 20,000 frames from the 40's to the late 80's...the guy that owns the lab im at bought the place from his old boss (my boss started there when he was 18, it was his first and only job he ever had...pretty cool story huh?) anyway, they never sold all of the frames they had, hell these are the ones that come with the fronts in one box and the temples in another, covered in paper. but those things have some heavy duty temple hinges, the big barrel ones. we even have safety glasses from those eras. I thought about getting ahold of a buddy of mine who builds movie sets and see if he could hook me up with a connect in hollywood to make vintage glasses for the movies, thats about all i could think of for those things. i keep telling my boss im gonna get an gold membership on here and take pics of them and sell them, there all brand new 70 year old frames!! some look pretty cool, most are the old plastic ones though, i do have some metal but not much. i like going in there and looking at them, some look really cool, and you can see how well made they were back before china made everything.
    Contact Badass Optical about these. Scott Balestari (owner) was looking for some, but maybe not all of them.

    http://badassoptical.com/contact.php

  10. #10
    lens-o-matic bhess25's Avatar
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    i will for sure...thanks Jacqui
    equal opportunity offender!!

  11. #11
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    O.K., I'll confess that I have a fetish......I hate to throw out posters, and such. I have a few frames, with cases, if made, and the POP associated.

    Not antiques, but an old optician gave me several handfuls of pince-nez(new with CT tags on) when he retired.

  12. #12
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Gold Supporter DragonLensmanWV's Avatar
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    http://www.kalaeyewear.com/marco.shtml

    Here's a new, Made In America frame that looks just like some of the cellulose nitrate antique frames I got from Fezz.
    DragonlensmanWV N.A.O.L.
    "There is nothing patriotic about hating your government or pretending you can hate your government but love your country."

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    Thanks for the link.

    Quote Originally Posted by Diopterman View Post
    Here is another for you Phaco:

    http://eyeantiques.com/

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    The reason there are so few collectors amoung opticians as we don't like to be reminded of how good the old spectacles were made and realize what we have come to. 18K gold anyone?

    Chip

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    OptiWizard
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    Here are two sites that those who may be interested in old spectacles can do a little research!

    http://www.antiquespectacles.com/

    http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/ *

    *I believe that Mr. Welch may be a bit emotionally attached to his frames! I have checked into buying many of his offerings, but his asking prices are very high. They run much higher than even HIGH going rates! He does have some very impressive specimens though! He is also one helluva nice guy to talk to. He gave me some advice on a lot of about 100 old specs that I sold about 2-3 years ago. Check his stuff out and start saving your pennies!
    Last edited by Diopterman; 10-17-2011 at 03:27 PM.

  16. #16
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    I have some 20 or so pince-nez and other antique frames (early 1800's - early 1900's) in my collection, plus I used to make medieval-style frames for reenactors many years ago.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Varangian View Post
    I have some 20 or so pince-nez and other antique frames (early 1800's - early 1900's) in my collection, plus I used to make medieval-style frames for reenactors many years ago.
    What are "medieval-style" frames?

    What materials did you use to make them? any photos?

  18. #18
    Master OptiBoarder rinselberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Diopterman View Post
    What are "medieval-style" frames?

    What materials did you use to make them? any photos?
    Here's some on line reading about eyeglasses in the Middle Ages..

    http://www.newyorkcarver.com/inventions.htm
    http://www.teagleoptometry.com/history.htm
    http://www.glassescrafter.com/inform...yeglasses.html

    Are you reading more posts and enjoying it less? Make RadioFreeRinsel your next Internet port of call ...

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    About 99% of our business is restoring Vintage and Antique eyeglasses.
    Here's a picture of our showroomClick image for larger version. 

Name:	showroom.jpg 
Views:	215 
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ID:	8092

    I had a huge collection but have since sold alot.

  20. #20
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    [QUOTE=Clearlightoptical;401120]About 99% of our business is restoring Vintage and Antique eyeglasses.
    Here's a picture of our showroomClick image for larger version. 

Name:	showroom.jpg 
Views:	215 
Size:	36.0 KB 
ID:	8092

    I had a huge collection but have since sold alot.[/QUOTE]

    You sold them off through your ON-LINE store right?

    Are you still selling on EBAY too?

  21. #21
    Master OptiBoarder opty4062's Avatar
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    I have one pair that have sentimental value to me. They are my great grandmother's round gold frame with cable temples and awesome huge bifocal segments from the early 1920s.

    Recently stolen from my uncle was a pair promised to me that my great grandfather (the other side of the family) fit for another family member. They were in a shadow box with the original copy of what amounted to an opticianry license for the state of Alabama in the 1890's when he was a watch maker/jeweler/optician. Just thinking about someone stealing that shadowbox and destroying it still makes me want to cry!

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    I am interested in these frames! Please email me at gmazorow@gmail.com to discuss if you want. Thanks

    Quote Originally Posted by bhess25 View Post
    i have 20,000 frames from the 40's to the late 80's...the guy that owns the lab im at bought the place from his old boss (my boss started there when he was 18, it was his first and only job he ever had...pretty cool story huh?) anyway, they never sold all of the frames they had, hell these are the ones that come with the fronts in one box and the temples in another, covered in paper. but those things have some heavy duty temple hinges, the big barrel ones. we even have safety glasses from those eras. I thought about getting ahold of a buddy of mine who builds movie sets and see if he could hook me up with a connect in hollywood to make vintage glasses for the movies, thats about all i could think of for those things. i keep telling my boss im gonna get an gold membership on here and take pics of them and sell them, there all brand new 70 year old frames!! some look pretty cool, most are the old plastic ones though, i do have some metal but not much. i like going in there and looking at them, some look really cool, and you can see how well made they were back before china made everything.

  23. #23
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    Smilie Yes, we sell online and love it!

    Diopterman,

    Yes, we sell mostly online, which is not the sin some around here think it is. If I am wrong, straighten me out. There is nothing wrong with selling online, and in fact it is now almost a necessity, particularly for those with a small niche like ours.

    We would never have a market large enough to pursue our business if we only sold locally, and our customers would never find the selection locally that they can online.

    Since we do not sell (with rare exceptions) products still in production, we are not competing with other brick and mortar optical retailers.

    We stress international sales, and have customers in over fifty countries. Fully 1/3rd of our biz is offshore. This means we are a net exporter of American products. I can't speak for others, but for me it is a hugely satisfying feeling to see money coming to us from China. So much so, that we have translated pages in to simplified Chinese to make that happen. We also stress Made in USA in our online offerings.

    We also help preserve the history of the art. Who else do you know that has an operable B&L Lox-It machine, or can demonstrate hand cranked edgers that score glass lenses before they are chipped and beveled? Do you think we do these things for the wild riches that come our way?

    We **DO** fill eyeglass Rxes online, but if you look at our site, we present this as a fall back option for our customers, and clearly state that they will potentially get a better pair of specs if they get their lenses locally. And of course that is true. We are aware of the discount houses, and resent as much as you do that we seem to be entering a brave new world of "3 in and 3 below" (sad LOL). When we do fill Rxes, we restrict sales to first division single vision. We also have a directory on our site that lets people find or suggest a "vintage optician" local to their area.

    Lastly, as time allows, we are building an interactive history of ophthalmic optics which will be done this coming summer. Meanwhile, we are producing static pages that help document frame history, as with our Ful-Vue page http://clearlightoptical.com/Ful-Vue/.

    So please, I understand and agree with the idea that consumers ordering ten dollar glasses made by a nine-year-old Chinese girl missing two fingers (sue me Zenni!) is bad for everyone involved, but there is a place for selling online in a responsible fashion. Please do not continue to lump us with online discounters and their questionable motives and credentials.

    It would be really nice to see an organized national list of independent ECP's. I would promote it heavily. I have a feeling too, that the undercurrent of "buy local" sentiment that seems to be growing will help preserve and strengthen community ECP's.

    As a last note, think about this: For some consumers, there may actually be little difference between buying online and buying locally if they shop at a dispensary where the staff has little ophthalmic training. The skill and knowledge that an experienced optician brings to the fitting and fabrication process is without substitute, and many eyeglass wearers know this. There are some things you just cannot export or mass market. When we are asked about the Zenni's of the world, my most common retort is "Only you know what your eyes are worth".

    Thanks.

  24. #24
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    Thanks for the insight ClearLight.

    I may pursue that avenue as well. The local market can not support enough sales of vintage and antique to make a side business, let alone a living!

  25. #25
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Gold Supporter Judy Canty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DragonLensmanWV View Post
    http://www.kalaeyewear.com/marco.shtml

    Here's a new, Made In America frame that looks just like some of the cellulose nitrate antique frames I got from Fezz.
    Oooohhh! I like!!

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