Post box for spectacles
 Catalogue Number: 3346 Post box for spectacles Category: Memorabilia and ephemera Practice/Business: C Werner and Co Pty Ltd Year Of Publication/Manufacture: c 1910 Time Period: 1900 to 1939 Description Of Item: Brown cardboard box, 135 mm x 62 mm x 28 mm H, slip on lid, with metal clips securing the corners. The top carries the words 'When returning spectacles, full name and address of sender should be enclosed in the box. C. WERNER & CO. Pty Ltd (Carter and Werner) OPHTHALMIC OPTICIANS 336 Collins Street Melbourne Tel. 2440 Central.' Historical Significance: Post boxes for spectacles were commonly used in the early years of optometry because it was not always convenient for patients, especially those in the country, to attend to collect their glasses or to return them for adjustment or repair. C Werner Pty Ltd was a well known optometry firm in Melbourne in the first half of the 20thC. It was established by Carl Werner (1852 - 1902) who migrated to Australia from Denmark (Duchy of Holstein) in 1870. He established the firm Carter and Werner that practised optometry, made spectacles and sold optical instruments probably about 1880. Carl Werner studied optometry in London and was the first person to obtain the FSMC diploma in 1898. (See the Werner family profile under the tab 'People who made history' on this web site). The firm established a branch in Melbourne. Carter and Werner was sold in 1902 and the practice in Melbourne became in 1902 the principal practice and was then called C. Werner and Co and was run by Carl Werner's two sons, Fred and Roy Werner. See similar item at Cat no. 1790 which has a later telephone number How Acquired: Donated by Elizabeth Hatfield, Fellow of the College Date Acquired: June 2017 Condition: Very good Location: Archive room. West wall. Unit 2 Drawer 2 |