Lil'Paisley~The Vixen of Vintage Blog

Pince Nez

It occured to me that I might be using terms to describe objects that people might not know. In the previous post I mention Pince Nez eye glasses...then don't show you what they are...so to clarify, here are some Pince Nez glasses. Enjoy!

Victorian Gold Object Mystery

When out treasure hunting have you ever come across something old, beautiful, and a complete mystery to its function and asked..."What is it?" It's happened to me many times. I love the challenge of trying to figure out an old objects use. Every once and a while, through research, the solution to a mystery and a strange objects use becomes clear. So I decided to start a category just for those type of mystery items. So here is the first one.

What is this???

This is a Victorian Eye Glass Chain with Hair pin. The piece appears to be solid gold. It was used by ladies to hold their eye glasses and prevent damage. The pin would go in the hair, which was almost always an up-do. Then the gold chain went on the glasses by attaching to the small clip. That way if they were to drop or fall they would not brake. Eye glasses during this period are frequently of the Pince Nez style and do not have arms that rest upon the ears like we wear now. I have a few pairs of Pince Nez glasses in my shop and after trying on a few I can see why a device to secure the glasses is so important. Mystery's solved.