2023 OHS meeting presentation

1. 1. My name is Drew Miller from Virginia Beach, and I’m here to talk
about spectacle cases. So, I’m not much of a public speaker, and I’m
giving a talk about a subject that is not particularly engaging, which
has been giving me some nightmares recently. In one particular
scenario, I am giving my talk, and slowly, one-by-one people start to
get up and leave the room. Soon there is only one person left. At that
point, getting frustrated, I stop my talk, and ask the lone attendee if
he is going to leave also, to which he shakes his head and replies “I
can’t, I’m the next speaker”. Anyway, I’ll try to make this
presentation as interesting as possible to people who may not be as
passionate about eyeglass cases as myself. As a side note, all of the
cases shown in this presentation come from my personal collection
unless stated otherwise.
As Madame Alfred Heymann, who owned quite possibly the greatest
eyeglass case collection in the world, so eloquently declared: “After
the spectacles were at full rest, to protect their fragility, they were
contained in cases adapted to their shape. These cases are precious
to us, for each era has brought to us its’ taste and its’ art.” I’m hoping
after you see some of these fantastic examples, you’ll share my
enthusiasm for them.
2. So, the first question we’re going to ask is: What did we do before
cases were invented. Well, one could wear them over their ear, such
as this enterprising Spanish historian to King Phillip II, one could
store them on the side of their writing desk or hang them on a shelf,
wear them around their neck or maybe attached to their belt.
3. There are many milestones when it comes to spectacle cases.
4. Don’t forget, the general agreement is the glasses were developed
around 1286, yet the first evidence of spectacle cases was nearly 30
years later, depicted in this banner from 1314 for the Vagineri, a case
makers guild in Italy. This banner is currently on display at the
Museum Correr in Venice. The spectacle cases are on the center left.
5.
The oldest mention of a spectacle case comes from the “Collectoriae”
of the Vatican’s Secret (private) Archive, dating back to 1316, where
the Bishop of Bologna purchased an “item in oculis de vitro cum
capsula” or basically eyeglasses with case.

2. 5. The oldest existing spectacle case in the world was found during
an archeological expedition in 1982 in Freiburg, Germany and it
probably dates to the 14th century. Here also is an artists rendering
of how the glasses would have fit in the case.
6. The oldest spectacle case with provenance are a pair of rivet
spectacles with an ivory case dated 1475, owned by the 8th shogun
of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshimasa housed in the Daisenin Temple in
Kyoto, Japan.
7. The oldest dated case is a wooden one from the Madame
Heymann collection, which we will talk about later and is located in
the Museum of Renaissance outside Paris and is dated 1585.
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Types of cases
1) Banjo- designed to hold to rivet glasses or folding nose spectacles
2) Tri-lobe- designed to hold nose spectacles or Nuremberg type
glasses
3) Frogmouth-Scottish and Persian mid 19th century
4) Coffin- most of these unusual case were made in the US around the
time of the civil war
5) Flip top
6) Pull off
7) Clam shell- Persian, Chinese, Russian
8) Slip in- Native American, Indian, Belgian
9) Cigar case- used to hold a pair of glasses or cigars or both. Many of
these, designed for men, were painted with erotic pictures such as
this tortoiseshell case or whimsical characters, such as Mr. Toad from
The Wind in the Willows, written in 1908.

3. 10) Purse style- popular in the US during the 1920s, such as this
flapper case, this Indian beaded case from 1930 to the 1940s such as
this case handmade by a famous doll maker.
11) Chatelaine- Chatelaine literally means mistress of the castle in
French, but eventually came to mean a case for a women to carry
various items needed around the house, such as scissors, sewing
needles and thread, and of course, glasses. These came in many
different materials, such as brass, silver, gunmetal, Moroccan leather
and tortoiseshell.
12) Hand Carved-as most of the older cases were, designed to hold
a specific pair of glasses.
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Eyeglass cases we designed obviously for protective reasons, but
also to show a little about the owner’s personality and taste. Most
early eyeglass cases were made of wood, iron, ivory, tortoiseshell or
porcelain.
Of course, one could make an eyeglass case out of anything, the list
is virtually endless, but includes the following more common
materials:
Ivory-clockwise from top left- hand carved ivory on carved wood (my
very first case), one of my favorite cases not owned by me, a Scottish
hand carved ivory dated 1663 with a carving of St. Andrew carrying a
cross with a pair of tinted Nuremberg spectacles. Unfortunately, I
could not bid on it due to the ivory ban forbidding the import of ivory
into the United States.
Wood- a hand made case inscribed Evan Thomas 1796, who was a
yeoman in the British army, hand carved Nuremberg case, Swiss
hand painted carved case from around 1850 and a pilgrim
Nuremberg case from 1650 purchased from the estate of a
gentleman that collected pilgrim artifacts. There is on similar in
Pilgram Hall in Plymouth, Mass.

4. Steel and iron-An Egyptian steel niello case from 1930, A Scottish
case for temple spectacles with Freemason symbol dated 1726, a
case for Martins Margins and an iron case date 1822, yet containing
a pair of Nuremberg specs that are signed by Jonas Schwartz, Furth
and dated 1740.
Silver- Dutch embossed silver hallmarked 1840, case manufactured
by Nathaniel Mills, a famous British silversmith hallmarked 1854, and
a silver filigree case, also known as metallic lace.
Tortoiseshell- Japanese, Chinese, and British. Tortoiseshell trading
was banned in 1974, due to the threatened extinction of the Hawksbill
turtle.
Porcelain- signed and dated 1854; one exactly like this but green is in
the Zeiss museum in Jena, German hand-painted hallmarked case
and a case embellished with the crest of Napoleon III, France c. 1850
Horn- Danish carved with a stag hunt (also with a pencil and paper
pad on one side) , Two Chinese horn cases, the top with a carving of
a dragon, the bottom of a phoenix.
Straw- These cases were famous for being made by French
prisoners-of-war held captive by the British in Cambridgeshire during
the Napoleonic wars at the start of 1800s as favors for their captors.
Brass-brass filigree with semi-precious stones, Persian damascene
case with dragons, British, Chinese
Birch bark- These cases were made by the mi’qmak tribe in
Northeast US and southern Ontario as souvenirs for tourists from the
early to late 1800s. They were also featured in the Anne of Green
Gables novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908. There is a similar
example of these cases in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bamboo- with a boxwood and bone netsuke of bespectacled man
polishing his toenails. A netsuke held the case in the belt of the
kimono.

5. Mother of pearl / Abalone- French, German dated 1888, Japanese
(so intricate), Scottish dated 1874 as a gift to a bible study teacher.
Sharkskin/shagreen/ray skin - Chinese yellow dyed, hand painted,
Ottoman Empire with brass medallion
Papier-mâché- Persian, Chinoiserie (Westernized Chinese art),MOP,
applied gold design
Exotics- Include Rabbit fur-USA, Lizard from Calcutta, Eel from
Korea, Zebra hide from Kenya, Peacock feather, Elephant hide from
Zimbabwe and a Reindeer hide case from Lapland
Tin lithography- a favorite of mine. Tin lithography is just painted tin
plated steel. These are so great because the paint and the tin
degrade rather quickly, making the patina on these wonderful, and in
addition they are also difficult to find, so acquiring these is always like
finding a treasure.
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Probably the finest collection of historical cases in the world was the
collection of early cases by Madam Alfred Hyman collected during the
late 1800s through early 1900s. In 1911 she published a limited
edition book (300 copies) called “Lunettes et Lorgnettes de Jadin”
which exhibited her collection. In the book, Chapter 2 was devoted
entirely to “Etui de besicles” or cases for glasses, and introduced us
to some of the earliest and most wonderful eyeglass cases the world
had ever seen. After she passed away in 1925, her collection was
supposedly donated according to her will to the Musea de Cluny in
Paris, but after that the collection was lost until 2006, when Dr. David
Fleishman and our very own Dr. Charles Letocha re-discovered it
spread amongst 10 museums throughout France and Europe. I have
obtained a few pictures taken by our sister organization the OAICC
from the Renaissance Museum outside Paris. The workmanship and
artwork of these cases is incredible, so just enjoy them.
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6. From 1860 until the early 1900s William and Andrew Smith of
Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland set up a factory make over 200 types
of articles using sycamore wood and decorated with a small scene
using a photographic transfer. These items were sold to wealthy
tourists throughout Europe and eventually the United States. One of
the articles produced, naturally, were spectacle cases. They also
branched out to Tartanware and Fernware. Eventually other
companies followed, and came out with Tunbridgeware (England)
and Sorrentoware (Italy)
Here are some classic Mauchlineware cases.
Tartanware consists of a unique plaid pattern corresponding to
specific clans of Scotland. The Smith brothers ingeniously invented a
way to print these patters on paper and then apply them to the wood.
Fernware consists of applying dried fern leaves to the wood and then
applying coats of varnish on top of them. Ferns grew well in the dark,
dank homes of Victorian England.
Tunbridgeware comes from Royal Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, England
and is made of tiny slivers of different colored wood applied to make
a pattern or design.
Sorrentoware is pieces of colored wood cut into shapes and
assembled like a jigsaw puzzle to make a picture, and made in
Sorrento, Italy.
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Most of my favorite collectibles are ones on the side of the unusual
and bizarre, so here are some unusual cases I have acquired.
The first and my most cherished item is a 1691 German prayer book
with a carved recess in the back with a pair of Nuremberg spectacles
set inside. According to the book Spectacles and Other Vision Aids
written by J. William Rosenthal M.D., there are less than a dozen of
these in existence, and most are held by museums.

7. Next is a gun/spectacle case combo. This Belgian “Lefacheux” style
gun, dated 1864 and only 5 inches long, contains an eyeglass holder
as well. (Although the glasses appear to date from about 1910 or
so.). I would think the time it would take to put on your glasses so you
could see what you were shooting at would put you at a clear
disadvantage.
Here is a case made of horn in the shape of an Asian carp, or koi
fish. Many of these case resembled animals which have certain
meanings, the koi fish representing good fortune and perseverance.
Here is an eyeglass case made from the horn of a water buffalo.
Here is an eyeglass case shaped like a coffin from Eastern Europe.
This one is scrimshaw on a whalebone of a whale.
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***********IF THERE IS TIME**********
A couple of interesting finds-
An eyeglass case purportedly carved with the life of Pocahontas,
from her transition from Native American Princess to her baptism into
Christianity to her marriage with John Rohlfs. Supposedly handed
down from generation to generation by a Virginia family descended
from their only son, Thomas who lived from 1615-1685. Of curious
note is the inscription inside of Number 278. The trilobe design is
consistent with Nuremberg spectacles and the carvings seem
authentic under microscopic examination. The hook seems to fit in
with that time period as well. Some people have said it might be an
18th or 19th century reproduction, but I can’t see someone making
that intricate of a repro 100 years later at that time. I don’t know if any
other experts out there have any opinions, but I would welcome any
input.
Another curious case is this temple case made of iron with the name
F. Line and the Masonic symbol dated 1720. Purchased at an auction
by a highly respected British auctioneer, this was thought to be the
oldest dated temple case found, as temples weren’t invented by

8. (supposedly) Edward Scarlett until 1714 and the Masons weren’t
founded until 1717. Until, I came across, this…a case very similar
dated 1707 by former OAICC club member, Ed Welch, who
unfortunately passed away in 2012. How could a case designed to
hold temple spectacles be made before they were invented. Was the
case designed to hold nose spectacles and just retrofitted for temple
specs, or did temples come about even earlier than we originally
thought. Don’t forget that date was pushed back by over 10 years
with the discovery of Edward Scarlett’s trade card showing a pair of
temple specs in 1714.
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Last of all, besides a shameless plug for my website, I would like to
mention how easy it is to produce your own website to share your
collection with the world. My daughter is an archivist, and we find it
interesting that so many people have magnificent collections, so
much better than mine, and we don’t get a chance to see them. I pay
1.99/month for my domain, and 4.99/month for hosting it, and they
provide you with all the tools to easily create a website. Even if you
don’t want to create your own, you can use eHive, a free website that
allows you to share and catalog your collection along with other
private collections and museums worldwide with people all over the
world.
Thank you