Antique Papier-Mâché Spectacles Case With Original Wire-Rim Glasses, Nantucket Estate, Circa 1900

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…. Some things are worth crossing water for.
We slipped over to Nantucket just before the season descended — quiet … Read more …. Some things are worth crossing water for.
We slipped over to Nantucket just before the season descended — quiet streets, raw wind off the harbor, and a summer house sale at a grand old shingle cottage whose contents were being dispersed to the world. This was among them.
A perfectly oval papier-mâché spectacles case, lacquered jet black and hand-decorated in gold with a cartouche of scrolling acanthus and a crisp Greek key border running its perimeter — the kind of object made when even a utilitarian thing was expected to be beautiful. Inside, cradled in what remains of its original purple silk lining, sit the original wire-rim spectacles: oval frames, impossibly fine, with loop-end temples that curl like a calligrapher's signature.
Someone carried this in a coat pocket or reticule for decades. We like to think they read well by the light at 'Sconset.
Sold as shown: case and spectacles only.
Dimensions: 6.25"L × 2.25"W × 1.5"H
Condition: Very good antique condition. Case shows age-appropriate wear; lining intact. Spectacles present with original lenses, frames intact.
Origin: Private Nantucket estate

Pieces found intact as a matched set rarely surface twice. This one won't linger. See less