Brass spectacles 1776
This is a beautiful pair of spectacles from the late 1700s. It has the “C” bridge of the time. It also has a maker’s mark, “BRNZ”. (bronze?) Although there is a brass maker’s mark on antiquespectacles.com called “BENZ“, this is not it. The temples are what are described as double hinge and were designed to help hold the frames in place by wrapping around the head to some degree.
The convex glass lenses have about 1 diopter of power. They could be replaced by your optician with a new prescription.
This pair came very tarnished and then was cleaned up to show off the beauty of the brass.
Supposedly, the American colonies did not make brass spectacles. They were made in Germany and worn to the American Colonies by Hessian mercenaries. They were often take as spoils of war by the colonists.
