Date our glasses please

March 8, 2010 9:30 AM

Old glasses found in the woods...

My father owns some property southeast of Austin, and found these glasses while clearing out some downed trees. Is there anyway to figure out how old they are?

posted by Big_B to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

Are there any manufacturer's marks on the inside of the frames? Because you can still purchase that style.
posted by jeanmari at 9:32 AM on March 8, 2010

I was really hoping that you'd found the glasses in the Boston area, and that they looked like the sort of glasses a 3rd grader would wear in the '80s: if that were the case, I'd lay claim to the pair and a long-standing family argument would be obviated.

I don't have any specific information for you. But I've bought glasses in many different parts of the USA during my lifetime, and I've always been able to find quirky independent family-owned stores. Can you locate something like that in the Austin area? There may be a proprietor there who can give you some at least some anecdotal info, or a ballpark guess about when those sorts of frames were stylish.
posted by .kobayashi. at 9:38 AM on March 8, 2010

Antique Road Show?

Seriously, we need pics or at least a description of any markings on the frames. Without that information it's hard to even ponder a guess. Is there a longstanding optometrist in town? Maybe they'd be able to hypothesize.
posted by jckll at 9:47 AM on March 8, 2010

It looks like the earpieces and nose pads are made of plastic, which would mean, probably, later than 1930's, at least. Based on the hole in the right lens (left side of your photo), I'm guessing that the lens are lightweight plastic, too, which would make them post 1962, or, more likely, early 1970s, at a maximum. If you could identify the lens material, or coatings as a later type, like polycarbonate lens material, or determine that they are a later complex prescription grind, like a blended bi-focal, you could bring the maximum date into the 80s, or even later.
posted by paulsc at 9:56 AM on March 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

As a wearer of vintage glasses, I'd pretty confidently place them somewhere in the 1930s. If you want an expert opinion, I'll bet the nice folks at Old Focals can give you one: [e-mail].
posted by chez shoes at 10:08 AM on March 8, 2010

Response by poster: I asked him if there are any inscriptions but haven't heard back. I'll post if he replies.

I didn't think about the lens material, but now that I have I'm not picturing how to get that nice of a round hole in actual glass - I would think it would crack on the edges. Oh well, maybe they're nothing special.
posted by Big_B at 10:11 AM on March 8, 2010

Those look very similar to the kind of glasses issued to navel personnel on submarines.

They are issued because they fit under the firefighting air masks without breaking the seal around the face. They also have polycarbonate lenses, so they can act as safety glasses. As far as I can tell, they are called "P-3 submariner glasses", but I can't find a real good picture of them for comparison.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 10:49 AM on March 8, 2010