Photo -- See Caption Below


Lorgnette (top left)

Miss Barton received this lorgnette as a gift.  Lorgnette spectacles were often used as fashionable accessories as well as vision aids.
Metal, glass. H 15.3, W 3.2 cm

Clara Barton National Historic Site, CLBA 624

Lorgnette (bottom)
c 1900

This gold-framed, Art Nouveau-style lorgnette is an example of the hand-held spectacles or opera glasses that were fashionable during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (third quarter of the 1800's to 1920). Examples are found in gold, silver, and plated steel. Lorgnettes differ from Oxfords in that Oxfords have nose pads that allow wearing the frames on the nose in Pince-Nez style.
Metal, glass. H 12.5, W 13.5 cm

Clara Barton National Historic Site, CLBA 690