Europe, Africa and Asia

Opera glasses, “nouvelle jumelle”, tortoiseshell covered, signed Bautain and personally made by him, circa 1845, Medical History Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Opera glasses, “nouvelle jumelle”, tortoiseshell covered, signed Bautain and personally made by him, circa 1845, Medical History Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Chinese, metal round frame, double hinge, clear (no Rx) lenses, 58 mm diameter (quite large), circa late 19th century, Dittrick Medical History Museum
 Chinese, metal round frame, double hinge, clear (no Rx) lenses, 58 mm diameter (quite large), circa late 19th century, Dittrick Medical History Museum
Glazed Majolica tile showing rivet spectacles, School of Marche, Church of S.Sebastian, originally on the floor of the S. Annunziata Chapel, 1510, Venice, Italy
 Glazed Majolica tile showing rivet spectacles, School of Marche, Church of S.Sebastian, originally on the floor of the S. Annunziata Chapel, 1510, Venice, Italy
Carved case made of bone, nicely decorated, for nose spectacles, Museum of Vision, Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
Carved case made of bone, nicely decorated, for nose spectacles, Museum of Vision, Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
Tile artwork, a monkey with a pair of eyeglasses, taken on a street of Lisbon, 17th century, notice what may be leather-framed nose spectacles.
Tile artwork, a monkey with a pair of eyeglasses, taken on a street of Lisbon, 17th century, notice what may be leather-framed nose spectacles.

  • 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
    • Abbey Church (former) of St. Urban, Bibliotheque, St.Urban, Switzerland
    • 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
    • Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison, Paris, France
    • 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
    • Church of the Holy Trinity (La Mattarella), Cappella Maggiore, Treviso, Italy
    • 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
    • County Museum of Gotland, Visby, Sweden
    • Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, Somerset House, London, United Kingdom
    • Department of Astronomy, (Museo della Specola), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
    • Deutsches Bernsteinmuseum, Ribnitz-Damgarten, Germany
    • 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
    • Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica di Palazzo Corsini, Rome, Italy
    • German Leather Museum, Offenbach, Germany
    • German National Museum, Nuremberg, Germany
    • Giorgio Ronchi Foundation, Firenze, Italy
    • Grote of Lebuïnuskerk, Deventer, The Netherlands
    • Halberstadt Cathedral, Halberstadt, Germany
    • 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 for the Material Culture of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period European, Krems, Austria
    • Institut für Geschichte der Medizin, Vienna, Austria
    • Institut für wissenschaftliche Kontaktoptik, Ulm, Germany
    • Institute and Museum of the History of Science, Florence, Italy
    • Edward Jenner Museum, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
    • Jersey Heritage Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands
    • Jewish Museum, Berlin, Germany
    • Kalmar Läns Museum, Kalmar, Sweden
    • Karl-Sudhoff-Institut, Leipzig, Germany
    • Kaunas 9th Fort Museum, Kaunas, Lithuania
    • 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
    • Liechtenstein Museum GmbH, Vienna Austria
    • Louvre, Paris, France
    • Lüneburger Klosterarchive c/o Kloster Wienhausen, Wienhausen, Germany
    • Luxottica Museum, Agordo, Italy
    • Maritime Museum of Zeeland, Vlissingen, Netherlands
    • 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
    • Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, Dijon, France
    • Musée de Cluny, Musée National du Moyen Âge, (National Museum of the Middle Ages), Paris
    • Musee de la Lunette, Morez, France
    • Musée de la Nacre et de la Tabletterie, Méru, France
    • Musées de la Ville de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
    • Musee des Arts et Metiers, Paris, France
    • Musee des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet, Paris, France
    • Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg
    • Musee de l’Armee, Paris, France
    • Musée Lorrain, Town Museum of Nancy, France
    • Musee Marmottan-Claude Monet, Paris, France
    • Musée National de la Renaissance, Ecouen, 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 of the History of Science, Oxford, UK
    • Museum Waldenburg, Waldenburg, Germany
    • Museum Walraversijde, Province of West-Flanders, Belgium
    • Museum Würth, Künzelsau, Germany
    • Musikalienarchiv St. Peter, Salzburg, Austria
    • Muzej Mimara, Zagreb, Croatia
    • National Army Museum, London, UK
    • The National Board of Antiquities Archives for Print and Photographs, Helsinki, Finland
    • National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
    • National Gallery in Prague, Czechoslovakia
    • National Gallery of Ancient Art of Corsini Palace, Rome, Italy
    • National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, UK
    • National Museum, Warsaw, Poland
    • National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
    • National Museums Liverpool, UK
    • 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
    • Palazzo Madama, Torino, Italy
    • Parish Church of All Saints, York, England
    • The Parish Church of Sarum St. Martin, Salisbury, United Kingdom
    • Pharmacy Historical Museum, Basel, Switzerland
    • Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy
    • Pinacoteca dell'Accademia dei Concordi, Rovigo
    • Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, Siena, Italy
    • Porvoo Museum, Porvoo, Finland
    • Pulkovo Observatory, Saint Petersburg, Russia
    • Redentoristi Fathers, Pagani (Salerno) Italy
    • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
    • Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen, Denmark
    • Rosgartenmuseum, Konstanz, Germany
    • The Rotterdam Eye Hospital, Rotterdam, Netherlands
    • Royal Armoury in the Royal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden
    • Royal Geographical Society Picture Library, London
    • The Royal Institution of Great Britain, London, UK
    • Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
    • Library Services, Royal Academy of Art, London, United Kingdom
    • The Royal Society, London, UK
    • 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
    • Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice, Italy
    • Skokloster Castle, Sweden
    • Società Siciliana per la Storia Patria-Palermo
    • Soprintendenza Speciale PSAE and Museums of Rome
    • Staatlich Muzeen du Berlin, Berlin, Germany
    • Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany
    • Staatliches Museum Schwerin, Schwerin, Germany
    • Stadtmuseum Nördlingen, Nördlingen, 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
    • Stichting Volkssterrenwacht Philippus Lansbergen, Middelburg, The Netherlands
    • 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
    • Trevor Philip & Sons Ltd, London
    • Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg
    • Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Germany
    • University Library of Utrecht, Special Collections Department, Utrecht, The Netherlands
    • 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
    • Wilton House, The Estate Office, Wilton, Salisbury, UK
    • 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

    South America

    • Religious Art Museum of Cusco, Peru

 


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