Pair of Glass Spectacle Lenses in Envelopes
 Catalogue Number: 3928 Pair of Glass Spectacle Lenses in Envelopes Category: Spectacles and lenses Sub-Category: Spectacle lenses Corporation: John K Davis, Henry G Fernald and Arline W Rayner Year Of Publication/Manufacture: 1965 Time Period: 1940 to 1999 Place Of Publication/Manufacture: USA Publisher/Manufacturer: American Optical Company Description Of Item: Two white envelopes 75 mm x 75 mm x10 mm imprinted with centrally placed horizontal red strip 35 mm wide containing the letters 65 mm/Minus Cylinder Series/Masterpiece II ? in black. AO? American Optical is printed in black and red in the lower third of the envelope. Each envelope is stamped SPH. CYL 2409 42 02/ -4.25 -.25 / -4.50 +.25 2.2 65 in red. The back of the envelopes have 541042/ Made in U.S.A./U.S. PAT 3,434,781/ BR. Pat. 1,055,541 and an AO logo printed in black, one has D 6 14 77, the other B12 19 78 stamped in red. Historical Significance: Lenses were part of old stock kept at the ACO dispensing laboratory. William Beecher, a jeweller, decided that he could produce better spectacles than the European imports available in 1833. He formed American Optical Company in 1869. Early in the 20th century the company was producing over 600,000 gold or silver frame mounts per year. Edgar Tillyer was director of research in the 1920s to 1940s and with Anna Glancy developed many of the company's optical products. The patent for the Masterpiece II lens was granted in 1965. How Acquired: Donated by ACO Optical Dispensing Laboratory via David Leeming Date Acquired: 08/2019 Condition: Good Location: Archive office. East wall shelves unit 3. Drawer 8 |