Pair of Folding Glasses, Lorgnettes

Victorian Lorgnettes, Folding Eyeglasses.
A pair of folding glasses on a telescopic handle with a spring button action. The Lorgnettes can be used as a magnifier when the lenses are fold over one another, or when opened they work as normal glasses. The lenses are 1 ½ inches in diameter, the handle is 2 ¼ inches long and can extend to 6 inches. The release and catch mechanism are in good working order. The original lorgnette is believed to have been invented circa 1770 by George Adams. A lorgnette is a pair of spectacles with a handle. The handle is used to hold them in place rather than fitting over the ears or nose. In 1825 Robert Bretell Bate took out a patent for 'An Improvement in the Frames of Eye Glasses' or 'Handled spectacles with a spring action, in which the lenses are designed to fold over one another in which position they look like a single lens'.