Pince-nez ebonite 1860s
Pince-nez made of ebonite represents unsold stock from over 150 years ago. This pince nez is made of hardened rubber, blued-steel for the spring, with incorporated nose pads comfortable.
Ebonite is rubber that has been vulcanized with 25% to 50 % sulfur to become ebonite (also called vulacanite). Although never used, there is slight oxidation of the steel because of their age.
John J. Bausch first used ebonite for spectacle frames in 1864 in Rochester, New York. So this hard rubber pince nez represents one of the first ebonite frames in the world.
The frames are “15” . The fifteen indicates the focal length in inches. This would correspond to about +2.75 diopters of power in today’s usage.
A +2.75 power reader is about what a typical 65 year old person with good far vision would use to read and do near tasks.
