Metal snap spectacle case for C Werner and Co

Historical Significance: Carl Werner (b1852-) founded a two-generation optometry firm in Melbourne and the members of the family were influential in the early development of optometry in Victoria. Carl Werner came to Australia in 1870 from Kiel in Holstein, at the age of 18, to live with an uncle in Ballarat. He had received some early optical training in Germany and joined the firm of Alex, Marks and Co. in Ballarat. Here, he worked with William Henry Carter, who had done an apprenticeship as jeweller and watchmaker in Melbourne. Henry Carter and Carl Werner started their own business (Carter and Werner) as jewellers, opticians and importers of optical instruments in Lydiard Street, Ballarat. They later opened a branch in Launceston, Tasmania and agencies in other towns. Carl Werner later travelled to London to study for the Fellowship of the Spectacle Makers Company (FSMC) which he completed in 1896, obtaining certificate No 1 of this newly established Fellowship qualification. His three sons, Fred, Roy (1891-1990) and Max were also optometrists and qualified in London and continued the practice until the 1980s . See an account of the Werner family by Wolf Gartner in Clin Exp Optom 2008; 91: 4: 412-414. Available on the Museum website under the tab 'People who made history'