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stealth. Rein took it a step further and pioneered “acoustic headbands,” Their central handle
which attempted to hide a hearing device underneath elaborate predated the more conven-
Victorian hairstyles. You could also hide your hearing aid trumpets in ient side-held spectacles
your clothing, in your parlor couch, or attach a small one amongst your (lorgnettes), a popular style
accessories. The jump to even more discreet hearing aid technology
happened thanks to Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the that was still utilized into
telephone and the invention of the microphone in the late 19th century the early 20th century.
and with them, a way to control the volume, frequency, and distortion Women, in particular,
of sounds. flocked to lorgnettes and
The first electric hearing aids were invented by Miller Reese carried them as facial
Hutchison in 1898 and relied upon an electric current to amplify weak jewelry or fashion acces-
signals. They were not mass-produced until 1913 and did not look like sories. In many cases, their
hearing aids as we know them today. Instead, they bore a modest
resemblance to another musical instrument, the horn. vision-enhancing proper-
Be on the lookout for silver, ornamented, stealthy, or uniquely ties took a backseat to their
shaped ear trumpets, but really any of these early hearing aids would beauty. Particularly lucky
make a fun addition to your collection. collectors may even find
examples of a fan lorgnette,
lenses hidden within a ladies
folding fan.
Scissor spectacles were the ultimate portable
With the Industrial eyewear in the 18th century, and rumor has it
Revolution, the mass that Napoleon, Lafayette, and George Washington
production of frames and all used them. Invented in the late 18th century
by a German optician, these glasses let the user
lenses made it possible for
manually set the distance between the lenses.
eyeglasses to move from
the realm of luxury accessories to something that could aid the vision of
working men and women. The development of plastics also helped.
Glasses could be molded to individual faces and were durable enough
for sustained use.
Innovations in the 20th century also helped popularize sunglasses as
we know them. Colored lenses were not new. Late 19th century glasses
employed a variety of colors, most popular amongst them were blue
How much will an ear trumpet run you in today’s market? Westport Auction and green tints. While these colored lenses would make a great addition
in Connecticut is selling this copper example from the early 20th century for
just under $250. Westport Auction to any Victorian reenactment, they won’t protect you. The idea that tinted
lenses could aid those with light sensitivity was purely medical until
Glasses around 1929 when sunglasses were first mass-produced for general

When you think of antique glasses, Benjamin Franklin’s spectacles protection and to reduce glare.
from the colonial era likely come to mind, but there’s so much more to Does collecting antique glasses strike your fancy, or would you like
collecting historic eyewear. Moving beyond Franklin and his bifocal to try out a pair for yourself? Look for “Windsor” eyeglasses, a popular
lenses, have you heard of “Martin’s Margins?” These round, highly style that’s still very much available today. Windsors were introduced
collectible spectacles invented by Benjamin Martin in the 18th century during the Victorian period and have metal frames with completely
pioneered the concept of thinner, more accurate lenses that were round lenses, arms that wrap around the ears, and the occasional
supported by durable frames for continued wear. celluloid decoration. Also keep an eye out for “Pince-Nez” frames, of
Scissor spectacles would also make a fun addition to your cabinet of Theodore Roosevelt’s fame. Named for the French terms “pinch” and
curiosities. Exactly like they sound, picture two round lenses that fold “nose,” this style has no arms and instead pinches onto the bridge of the
out of a central storage area to resemble the hand grips on scissors. They nose and often has a chain for convenient carrying.
fit in your pocket or hung on a chain and could be used at a moment’s Happy hunting!
notice by those who didn’t want to wear their glasses. Most surviving
examples of scissor spectacles date from the early to mid-19th century.

Benjamin Martin (1704-1782) was an optician in London who invented this style
of spectacles. The design was later much copied. Pairs found today are usually of iron Lennon adopted these round Windsor eyeglasses to wear in public in 1966, wearing
or steel with a C-bridge and margins of cattle horn. Luxury models of silver with them first while playing Private Gripweed in Richard Lester’s film How I Won
tortoiseshell inserts seem to have been made. The historian, J.W. Rosenthal, has The War. This pair of Windsor glasses predate the film so may well be the first
observed that the lenses, whether of pebble or glass, all seem to have been bi-convex pair of the famous round glasses that he ever owned. This pair sold at
and their axes were pointed inwards to meet at the normal reading distance. Sotheby’s for $57,600 in October 2020.
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