Rimless Round Eye Spectacles with curl sides in metal case
 Catalogue Number: 3183 Rimless Round Eye Spectacles with curl sides in metal case Category: Spectacles and lenses Sub-Category: Spectacles with case Year Of Publication/Manufacture: c 1930 Time Period: 1900 to 1939 Place Of Publication/Manufacture: Frame USA Publisher/Manufacturer: Shur-on Optical Co. Inc. Description Of Item: Gold-filled three piece rimless frame with curl sides and gold filled nose pads, bridge 22 mm and stamped G.F. SHUR-ON, fitted with 42 mm round eye lenses of approx +1.25 DC. Spring hinged metal case covered with black leatherette with blue velour lining. A round metal label with C Werner and Co Pty Ltd 336 Collins Street Melbourne embossed around a central logo comprising the letter W and a round eye spectacle frame is attached to the inside of the case. Case 133 x 60 x 18 mm Historical Significance: Shuron Optical Company was founded in 1865 and still operated (2011) as a frame manufacturer. 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' How Acquired: Donated by Wayne Lyons, optical dispenser, Malvern Optical Clinic Date Acquired: 28-11-2016 Condition: Frame Good. Case leatherette damaged. Location: Archive Office. Spectacles cabinet Drawer 1 |