Description

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.
Ebonite is rubber that has been vulcanized with 25% to 50 % sulfur to become ebonite (also called vulcanite). 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  “19” . The nineteen indicates the focal length in inches. This would correspond to about +2.00 diopters of power in today’s usage.
A +2.00 power reader would be used by someone in their early fifties.