Eye spy
New Web site focuses on antique spectacles
BY SHARON KORBECK
ANTIQUE TRADER EDITOR
“As one of the most important inventions
of all time, they have had an incalculable effect on our lives ever since
they were invented over 700 years ago”
— Dr. David Fleishman. retired ophthalmologist
Can you imagine what life would be like
without clarity of vision?
Many people take eyesight for granted, A but
not Dr. David Fleishman of Sharon, Mass. The retired ophthalmologist and
eyeglasses collector has focused his vision, of late, on a new Web site
devoted to antique spectacles.
“I was an ophthalmologist for 28 years,” said
Fleishman, adding that he has collected spectacles for the past 25 years. In
conjunction with about 65 world wide experts, Fleishman has established
www.antiquespectacles.com.
The Web site is dedicated to 22 individuals from 11 countries who were
pioneers in the hobby and industry.“
We expect to raise public awareness because
spectacles have been taken for granted in spite of their extreme beauty and
remarkable developmental history. As one of the most important inventions of
all time, they have had an incalculable effect on our lives ever since they
were invented over 700 years ago,” Fleishman said.
The Web site grew out of a paper Fleishman
wrote on the history of spectacles. With so much information, Fleishman
decided to publish his paper online. Now, the site, which went live only
recently, includes history, links, a virtual museum, photos, a timeline
(dating from the 13th century to the early 20th century) and identification
guide.
According to Fleishman, glasses first
appeared in Pisa, Italy, around 1286. The glasses were formed from two
primitive convex-shaped crystal stones surrounded by a frame and given a
handle.
Certainly many developments followed, as
detailed on the Web site. But most people are familiar with one of the most
significant inventions in the spectacle world — Benjamin Franklin’s
bifocals, introduced in the mid-to late 1700s.
Fleishman cited Franklin as stating, “As I
wear my own glasses constantly, I have only to move my eyes up
SEE SPECTACLES, PAGE 36 |
