Europe, Africa and Asia

Galuchat case with pewter folding glasses, ivory ruler and silver toothpick, France 1840s, Galleria Guglielmo Tabacchi – Safilo (Padua, Italy)
Galuchat case with pewter folding glasses, ivory ruler and silver toothpick, France 1840s, Galleria Guglielmo Tabacchi – Safilo (Padua, Italy)
Ivory magnifier in a tortoiseshell case, mid 19th century, Musee de la lunette, Morez
Ivory magnifier in a tortoiseshell case, mid 19th century, Musee de la lunette, Morez, France
Leather-framed spectacles, circa 1520, Wartburg Castle, Eisenach, Germany
Leather-framed spectacles, circa 1520, Wartburg Castle, Eisenach, Germany
Round lens, steel, double-hinge, teardrop finials, c. 1800, Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester, U.K.
Round lens, steel, double-hinge, teardrop finials, c. 1800, Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester, U.K.
Stenopaeic folding nose spectacles, gilt brass, Second half 18th C., the lenses are replaced by two brass disks holding two short cylinders with viewing holes. The disks serve to limit the pupil diameter, thereby improving eyesight in certain conditions. This contrivance was first described in 1677 by Father Chérubin d'Orléans, Institute and Museum of the History of Science, Florence, Italy
Stenopaeic folding nose spectacles, gilt brass, Second half 18th C., the lenses are replaced by two brass disks holding two short cylinders with viewing holes. The disks serve to limit the pupil diameter, thereby improving eyesight in certain conditions. This contrivance was first described in 1677 by Father Chérubin d'Orléans, Institute and Museum of the History of Science, Florence, Italy

  • Click the folder to see a list of Participating Italian Institutions. This is where eyeglasses had their origin over 700 years ago.
  • Europe

    • Abbey Church of La Chaise Dieu, France
    • Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Vienna, Austria
    • akg-images (formerly known as "Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte"), Berlin Germany
    • Amsterdam Historical Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    • Army Medical Services Museum, Aldershot, Hampshire, United Kingdom
    • Ashwell Village Museum, Ashwell United Kingdom
    • Augusteiner Museum, Freiburg, Germany
    • The Bakkehus Museum (Bakkehusmuseet), Frederiksberg, Denmark
      Basilica of St. Anthony, Padova, Italy
    • Basilica of Saint Servatius, Maastricht, The Netherlands
    • Battle Abbey of English Heritage, Battle, East Sussex, United Kingdom
    • Bayerisches National Museum, Munich, Germany
    • Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, Münich, Germany
    • Beethoven-Haus, Bonn, Germany
    • Benedictine Abbey of Admont, Admont, Austria
    • Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum, Berlin, Germany
    • Bernheimer Fine Old Masters, Munich Germany
    • Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venezia
    • Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire, Fribourg, Switzerland
    • Biograd Museum, Biograd na Moru, Croatia
    • Blair Castle, Blair Atholl, Pitlochry, United Kingdom
    • Blicheregnens Museum, Kjellerup, Denmark
    • Bodleian Library, Oxford, John Johnson Collection
    • Boston Guildhall Museum, Boston, Lincolnshire, UK
    • Brilmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
    • British Library, London, United Kingdom
    • The British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings, London
    • Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, West Yorkshire, UK
    • Bureau Archelogie, Haarlem, The Netherlands
    • Centro Studi Antoniani, Padova, Italy
    • Cathedral of Aachen, Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany
    • Channel 4's 'Time Team', London
    • Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, Celana (Bergamo), Italy
    • Church and Convent of Saint Giovanni in Saluzzo, Italy
    • Church Commissioners of the Church of England
    • Church of S.Maria di Piazza Alta, Sarnano, Italy
    • Church of S. Sebastian, S. Annunziata Chapel, Venice
    • Giorgio Cini Foundation, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Italy
    • College of Optometrists, British Optical Association Museum, London, UK
    • Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, Strand, London, United Kingdom
    • Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, Somerset House, London, United Kingdom
    • Department of Astronomy, (Museo della Specola), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
    • Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
    • The Dick Institute, Kilmarnock
    • Diocese of Worcester, Worcester, UK
    • East Ayrshire Council Arts and Museums Service, Scotland, UK
    • English Heritage (Down House- Downe, Kent), UK
    • Ernst Abbe Stiftung, Optisches Museum, Jena, Germany
    • The Fan Museum, Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
    • The Fitzwilliam Museum   Cambridge, UK  
    • Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena
    • Fondazione Museo dell’Occhiale, Pieve di Cadore, Italy
    • Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica, Florence, Italy
    • Freud Museum, London, United Kingdom
    • Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, Italy
    • Galleria G.Franchetti alla Ca' d'Oro, Venezia
    • Galleria Guglielmo Tabacchi – Safilo (Padua, Italy)
    • Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy
    • German National Museum, Nuremburg, Germany
    • Giorgio Ronchi Foundation, Firenze, Italy
    • Grote of Lebuïnuskerk, Deventer, The Netherlands
    • Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands
    • Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
    • Haus Der Musik, Vienna, Austria
    • Herning Museum, Herning, Denmark
    • Historic Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom 
    • Historisches Museum, Basel, Switzerland
    • Institut für Geschichte der Medizin, Vienna, Austria
    • Institute and Museum of the History of Science, Florence, Italy
    • Institut für wissenschaftliche Kontaktoptik, Ulm, Germany
    • Edward Jenner Museum, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
    • Jersey Heritage Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands
    • Jewish Museum, Berlin, Germany
    • Karl-Sudhoff-Institut, Leipzig, Germany
    • Kloster Luene, Lueneburg, Germany
    • Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerpen, Belgium
    • Konstanz Museum, Konstanz, Germany
    • Krk Cathedral, Island of Krk, Croatia
    • Kulturzentrum Rathenow, OptikIndustrieMuseum, Rathenow, Germany
    • Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin, Germany
    • Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
    • KunstHistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
    • Landesmuseum Mainz, Mainz, Germany
    • Louvre, Paris, France
    • Lüneburger Klosterarchive c/o Kloster Wienhausen , Wienhausen, Germany
    • Marktkirche St. Georgii et Jacobi, Hannover, Germany
    • Martin von Wagner Museum der Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
    • Metropolitan Chapter of Saint Vitus, Prague, Czechoslovakia
    • Medical History Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
    • Melrose Abbey of Historic Scotland
    • Ministry of the Interior, Rome, Italy
    • Monastery of St. Francis in Split (Poljud), Croatia
    • Moyse’s Hall Museum, Cornhill, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, United Kingdom
    • Municipal Archeological Department, Bergen-op-Zoom, The Netherlands
    • Musee Carnavalet, Paris, France
    • Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaisme, Paris, France
    • Musee de la Lunette, Morez, France
    • Musées de la Ville de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
    • Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg
    • Musee des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet, Paris, France
    • Musee de l’Armee, Paris, France
    • Musée Lorrain, Town Museum of Nancy, France
    • Musee Marmottan-Claude Monet, Paris, France
    • Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
    • Museo del Precinema, Padova, Italy
    • Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, Spain
    • Museo di San Marco, Florence, Italy
    • Museo Lara, Ronda, Spain
    • Museo Lazaro Galdiano, Madrid, Spain
    • Museo S.Alfonso Maria De Liguori, Pagani, Italy
    • Museo Storico Nazionale dell'Arte Sanitaria, Rome, Italy
    • Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
    • Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum) Lisbon, Portugal
    • Museu Nacional d'art de Catalunya (MNAC), Barcelona, Spain
    • Museum and Library of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, London
    • Museum Boerhaave, Leiden, Netherlands
    • Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    • Museum Brouwershuis, Antwerpen, Belgium
    • Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht, The Netherlands
    • Museum for the History of the Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
    • Museum fur Ur-und Fruhgeschichte, Freiberg, Germany
    • Museum fuer das Fuerstentum Luenburg, Lueneburg, Germany
    • Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University, Sweden
    • Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
    • Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
    • Museum of the History of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
    • Museum of London, London Wall, London, UK
    • Museum of Natural History of Florence, Zoology Department "La Specola"
    • Museum of National Antiquities, Stockholm, Sweden
    • Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester, UK
    • Museum Walraversijde, Province of West-Flanders, Belgium
    • Museum Würth, Künzelsau, Germany
    • Muzej Mimara, Zagreb, Croatia
    • The National Board of Antiquities Archives for Print and Photographs, Helsinki, Finland
    • National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
    • National Gallery in Prague, Czechoslovakia
    • National Museum, Warsaw, Poland
    • National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
    • National Portrait Gallery, London, UK
    • Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum, Hannover, Germany
    • Nordic Museum, Stockhom, Sweden
    • Nordiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
    • Number One Royal Crest Museum, Bath, United Kingdom
    • Odense City Museums/ Hans Christian Andersen Museum, Odense, Denmark
    • Optometrists Association Australia, Carlton VIC, Australia
    • Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
    • Ostfriesisches Teemuseum, Norden, Germany
    • Parish Church of All Saints, York, England
    • The Parish Church of Sarum St. Martin, Salisbury, United Kingdom
    • Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy
    • Pinacoteca dell'Accademia dei Concordi, Rovigo
    • Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, Siena, Italy
    • Porvoo Museum, Porvoo, Finland
    • Redentoristi Fathers, Pagani (Salerno) Italy
    • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
    • Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen, Denmark
    • Rosgartenmuseum, Konstanz, Germany
    • The Rotterdam Eye Hospital, Rotterdam, Netherlands
    • Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
    • Library Services, Royal Academy of Art, London, United Kingdom
    • Russian National Library, St. Petersburg, Russia
    • Sainsbury African Gallery, British Museum, London, UK
    • St. Nikolai Church, Stralsund, Germany
    • St. Mary’s Church, Lepoglava, Croatia
    • San Pantaleo (Piarist Fathers), Rome, Italy
    • Santa Maria in Vallicella, Chiesa Nuovo, Rome, Italy
    • Schlossmuseum, Weimar, Germany
    • Otto Schott Glass Museum, Jena, Germany
    • Science Museum, London, UK
    • Scuola Dalmata dei SS. Giorgio e Trifone, Venice
    • Skokloster Castle, Sweden
    • Società Siciliana per la Storia Patria-Palermo
    • Staatlich Muzeen du Berlin, Berlin, Germany
    • Staatliches Museum Schwerin, Schwerin, Germany
    • Baruch Spinoza's House, Rijnsberg, The Netherlands
    • Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Germany
    • Staatliche Museen Kassel, Kassel, Germany
    • Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany
    • Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt a Main, Germany
    • Stadtarchaologe, Stadt Lueneburg
    • State Museums of Florence, Italy (part of the State Administration of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage)
    • Stibbert Museum, Florence, Italy
    • Stichting Cultureel Erfgoed Zeeland(SCEZ), Vlissingen, the Netherlands
    • Stichting promotion Archelogie, Zwolle, the Netherlands
    • Stiftungsverwaltung Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
    • Strossmayer’s Gallery of Ancient Masters, Zagreb, Croatia
    • Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen, Germany
    • Superintendancy for Archaeology of Tuscany, Florence, Italy
    • Swiss National Museum, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Syon Park, Brentford, West London, United Kingdom
    • Technisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
    • Teylers Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands
    • Thackray Museum, Leeds, United Kingdom
    • Thorvaldsen’s Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
    • Town Hall of L’Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy
    • Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg
    • Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Germany
    • Department of Astronomy, (Museo della Specola), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
    • University of Padua, Padua, Italy
    • University Museum, Utrecht, the Netherland
    • Uppsala University, Museum Gustavianum, Augsburg Art Cabinet, Uppsala, Sweden
    • Van Loon Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    • Varaždin Municipal Museum, Varaždin, Croatia
    • Vatican Museums, Vatican State
    • Victoria & Albert Museum, S. Kensington, London, UK
    • Villa San Michele, Anacapri, Italy
    • Waddesdon Manor, Waddesdon, Nr Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK
    • Wartburg Castle, Eisenach, Free State of Thuringia, Germany
    • Warwick Castle, Warwickshire, England
    • Wellcome Trust Medical Photographic Library, London UK
    • Wessex Archaeology, Salisbury, Wilts
    • Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster, Germany
    • Westminster Abbey Library, London, United Kingdom
    • Professor H.J.M. Weve Foundation, The Netherlands
    • Whipple Museum of the History of Science, Cambridge, UK
    • Wien Museum, Vienna Austria
    • Worcestershire County Museum, Hartlebury Castle, Hartlebury Nr Kidderminster, Worcestershire, UK
    • Wuerzburg University Library, Wuerzburg, Germany
    • Zagreb Archdiocese, Metropolitan Library, Croatian State Archives, Zagreb
    • Carl Zeiss Optisches Museum, Oberkochen, Germany

    Africa

    • Cape Medical Museum, Cape Town, South Africa 
    • Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

    Asia

    • National Gandhi Museum, New Delhi, India
    • Seoul National University Medical School Museum, South Korea
    • Tokyo Megane, Tokyo, Japan

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