Boy's spectacle frame, Martin Wells, 'Colt'
 Catalogue Number: 1884 Boy's spectacle frame, Martin Wells, 'Colt' Category: Spectacles and lenses Sub-Category: Spectacle frame Year Of Publication/Manufacture: c 1965 Time Period: 1940 to 1999 Place Of Publication/Manufacture: Australia Publisher/Manufacturer: Martin Wells Description Of Item: Unglazed boy's brown shell spectacle frame, saddle bridge, hockey sides, concealed joints, back of left rim marked 42.22, right side marked 'Frame Australia 120'. left side marked 'Martin Wells Colt' Historical Significance: Martin Wells was an Australian spectacle frame manufacturer founded by business man Sidney Sinclair OBE AM (1915-1999), optometrist Eric Hurst and Dino Zigarelli, a spectacle frame expert. Martin Wells produced a range of spectacle frames in the 1950s that were highly popular in Australia and ushered in a new era of fashion into spectacles in Australia. In the early 1950s the most common styles were flesh and demi-amber plastic frames with full-vue lens shape and plastic hockey sides; steel frames covered with imitation tortoise shell and curl sides, and rimless glasses. They were not fashion items. How Acquired: Donated by Elizabeth Hatfield, Fellow of the College Date Acquired: April2011 Condition: Very good Location: Archive Office. Spectacles cabinet Drawer 16 |