Merveille et Cie Opera Glasses: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a brass instrument with pearl on the barrels, eyecups, center focus and lorgnette handle. The barrels are slightly flared. The objective lenses are 30 mm in diameter. The length is 4.5 cm closed. One eyecup is marked “I. A. FOYE / HOT SPRINGS ARK” and the other “MERVEILLE ET CIE / PARIS.”

The I. A. Foye signature probably refers to a dealer who was mentioned in The Jeweler’s Circular for 1893. The French firm has not yet been identified. If these glasses were imported for sale in the United States, the lack of “Made in France” tag would indicate a date before March 1, 1891, when the strictures of the McKinley tariff went into effect.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1890-1900
• user: Short, Martha Dunham
• presenter: Short, Omar Jackson
• maker: Merveille Et Cie
• Object Name: opera glasses
• Object Type: opera glasses
• Other Terms: opera glasses; Opticals; Accessories Carried; Female
• Physical Description: glass (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Physical Description: shell, mother-of-pearl (overall material)
• place made: France: Île-de-France, Paris
• used in: United States: Arkansas, Hot Springs
• purchased in: United States: Arkansas, Hot Springs
• related to: Weddings
• ID Number: CS.248573.010
• catalog number: 248573.010
• accession number: 248573
• Credit Line: Gift of Miss Omar Short
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.