Horn-rimmed yellow spectacles in patterned case
Maker
W.R. & I.D. Swaby Optometrists (estab. 1954, closed 2001)
Date
Circa 1920-1940
Description
Yellow glass spectacles with plastic arms in orange patterned case.
Horn-rimmed eyeglasses became a popular style during the beginning of the 1920s. The frames were made from horn or tortoiseshell and, unlike wire frame glasses, the frames were thick. As wearing glasses became a more acceptable look during the Jazz Age, men embraced these bolder glasses.
With the world in the midst of WWII for most of the decade, fashion was not a priority for most. Many kept with the styles of glasses they had been using for the past decades, although new materials and technologies – some a result of wartime invention – were starting to make eyeglasses into more of an accessory than their historic counterparts had been.
Horn-rimmed glasses had decreased in favour by the end of the decade as people preferred the more durable wire frames. This lack of durability also makes antique horn rimmed glasses a rarer find today
From a collection of glasses formerly worn by Mrs M. Hassett (1891-1983) and her husband. The Glasses were worn from the early 1900s until 1983. They were originally obtained form optometrists in Warrnambool, Geelong, Ballarat and Melbourne, the most noted being Thomas Gaunt & Co. (Melbourne, Australia), late 19th century manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, clocks, watches and decorative items.
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