| Title |
Description |
Photo |
Comments |
| President George Washington
spectacles (two pair which are reputed to possibly have been his)
|
Review of a letter dated April
4, 1918 written by Harrison Dodge, Superintendent of Mount Vernon, reveals
that they initially had two pair of Washington spectacles (see photo).
Another letter dated March 29, 1952 had been written to the Historian of
Independence National Historical Park. It stated the “Mount Vernon has lost
the only pair it had that had any claim to possible authenticity”. In the
files of the Independence National Historical Park, there is a listing which
shows:
SN 45.001 Said to have belonged to George Washington. STOLEN.
Andrew Billing (1743-1808) silversmith is said to have made this pair of
spectacles which are said to have been worn by Washington. From a letter
dated August 21, 1967, Acting Chief of Visitors Services reported that a
pair of antique spectacles was discovered missing from the Assembly Room at
9:35 a.m. Saturday August 19, 1967. The spectacles had been displayed on the
“New York” table, nearest the bar on the north side of the room. They were
part of the Independence Hall Collection, on permanent loan from the city of
Philadelphia. They were silver and were bearing the mark “A. Billing”.
SN 45.025 Silver rimmed, stolen 8/23/69, with case – not stolen (listed City
Collection -no photo) |
 |
One was taken from Mt. Vernon
before 1952 while the other was taken from the Assembly room of Independence
Hall in 1967.
There is really no 100% proof that any of these belonged
to Washington and some of the curators along the way simply have not
believed any of the claims. |
| President Andrew Jackson
spectacles |
This pair has silver rims with
adjustable earpieces. Inside one temple is engraved "Gen. A. Jackson"; on
the other is "McAllister, Philad" and the number 16. The Inscription “Gen.
A. Jackson” is visible in the photograph. They were stolen in 1978 while on
exhibit in the Hermitage mansion. These eyeglasses were originally acquired
from Andrew Jackson’s great grandsons in 1921. |
 |
In 1993 an anonymous phone call
was received from someone claiming to have these eyeglasses, but nothing
ever came of it. |
| Spectacles with Scarlett
Temples |
Owned by the late OAICC member
Robert von Sandor of Sweden, this pair had been loaned out for an exhibition
in a museum in 1988 or 1989. The glass showcase in which they were displayed
was smashed by a thief who grabbed them and ran. |
 |
The frame was slightly more
decorative and possibly a little younger than the one discovered at the BOA
Museum by Hugh Orr. Described in the April 1989 OAICC Newsletter. The major
feature here is the unusual SCARLETT finials. These spectacles were never
recovered |
| Two wonderful decorated
spyglasses |
These had been part of the
Sandoz Collection and have been unseen for just over 50 years. That famous
Collection had been exhibited in NYC in 1950. From the exhibition catalog:
Spyglass with music, watch, and automation showing an animated seascape.
Gold and enamel with pearl borders. Signed Puy Roche. A 220-221 Fig. 35 in
the catalogue
Spyglass with watch, music playing hunting song, and automation showing an
animated hunting scene. Gold and enamel with pearl borders. Ex- coll.
Bernard-Franck M. 318.
Lent by Dr. Maurice Y. Sandoz |
 |
These two spyglasses from the
Sandoz Collection were seen until 1954. Then after Dr. Maurice Sandoz died,
the collection was apparently divided into three parts. One part went to the
Musée d'Horlogerie du Locle - Château des Monts outside Geneva, Switzerland.
Another part was kept by the family (including Faberge eggs). The third part
is what has not been seen since his death, and this included the two
wonderful spyglasses. |
| Eighty valuable pieces
belonging to Dr. Richard Greeff, Director of the eye clinic in the Berlin
Charite |
The collection passed to the
Staatliche Optikerschule in Jena. Then in 1921, while Greeff was out of the
country, the best, mostly made of gold, examples were stolen. |
(No Photo) |
The theft was never solved and
these were thought to have been melted down.. In September 1923 the Greeff
Collection was willed to the Carl Zeiss firm in Jena. |
| Statue and ivory monkeys |
The statue and the monkeys were
stolen in the 1960s from the BOA Museum |
 |
Never recovered |
| Christuskind mit Brille in der
Hand, Italian (Milan) school, 16th century oil painting |
This was a painting of the
child Jesus with eyeglasses in his hand. Ophthalmologist Dr. Bourgeous of
Reims, France had been a presenter at the 1909 International Congress of
Ophthalmology. In his collection he had no fewer than 40 examples of the
anachronistic representation of eyeglasses. He showed a copy of this one and
it was also mentioned in the Madame Heymann book of 1911. Dr. Greeff of
Berlin wrote a paper about this painting in the 1913-14 Zeitschrifrt fur
Ophthalmologische Optik. Glasses were placed in the painting like a toy for
the child to play with. They were typical bow spectacles and belonged to his
father Joseph who stands behind and to the left of the child Christ. It
looks almost as though this is a single lens. |
 |
Leading up to World War I this
painting apparently disappeared and it has never been seen since. The
painting was in the collection of Dr. Goldzieher, Greeff’s colleague and a
Budapest Jewish ophthalmologist. This was a loss of monumental proportion
because it was unique of all the anachronisms known from the 15th – 17th
centuries.
|
| Spectacles from the Dr. Edward
Bull Collection |
A group of spectacles
disappeared from the Dr. Edward Bull Collection in the late 70’s – early
1980’s. The list totaled fifty-five items valued at $11,000. Most of them
had the notation “L1090” written on the sidearm. |
(No Photo) |
It was believed that an
individual who collected spectacles at that time, authored books about them,
and also appraised them was the apparent culprit. A legal case ensued and
there was an out of court settlement. However these objects unfortunately
were never recovered. |
| Polyhedral glasses from the
late 16th century |
On the night of December 4,
1949, a robbery occurred at Castle Ambras in Vienna, Austria. 118 pieces
were stolen from a cabinet and this apparently included the polyhedral
glasses from The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. These were possibly used
by Archduke Ferdinand of Tyroll and had been photographed in 1921.
|
 |
One of perhaps only six of this
style known to exist
|
| Solid gold facetted spectacles |
Solid gold facetted spectacles
the sides engraved “Thos Smirk” and “60 years” in solid silver. They
apparently had been in the Hugh Orr Collection. |
 |
Described in the July 1998
OAICC Newsletter.
|
| A collection of ophthalmic antiques in Australia |
In Sydney, Australia, a collection of ophthalmic antiques
was stolen from the home of a collector while he was abroad in the month of
June 1999. The pieces were up to 200 years old and included lorgnettes,
lorgnons and gold spectacles from the 19th century and up to 1970 in the
20th century. The lorgnettes included examples with real tortoiseshell and
mother-of-pearl handles. |
(No Photo) |
Described in the January 2000 OAICC Newsletter. A reward
has been offered for information leading to the recovery of this collection.
Telephone the New South Wales Police with any information 061-02-9414-8499.
|
| Spectacles of John Lennon |
The Glasgow Herald of 12/28/2000 reported that the
life-sized bronze statue of John Lennon was vandalized when a thief stole
its spectacles. The statue had been unveiled in Havana Cuba on 12/8/2000 by
Fidel Castro. |
(No Photo) |
Described in the April 2001 OAICC Newsletter.
|
| Silver spectacle cases from the BOA Museum collection |
Two silver spectacle cases from the BOA Museum collection
were snatched while on display at Optrafair 2001. These were part of the
College of Optometrists stand. Right: silver case, flip-top, hallmarked NM
(Nathan Mills), elaborate decoration depicting a castle. English
(Birmingham) 1850, 120x51x16mm. Left: Silver folder case, oval-shaped,
hallmarked, open end, decorated with scroll pattern, blue lining, attached
to a chatelaine chain, English (Birmingham), 1901, 65x42x13 mm. |
 |
Described in the July 2001 OAICC Newsletter. |
| Scissors-glasses, gilded, circa
1820 |
These were stolen from the
office of Dr. Alan York, Easthampton, NY in the late 1980's |
 |
Shown in Encyclopedia of
Collectibles, Eyeglasses, Time-Life Books, page 84 |
