Antique Round Gold-Tone Wire Rim Eyeglasses with Cable Temples, Pad Bridge and Muskogee Optician Case
These are antique full-rim round eyeglasses in gold-tone metal, likely gold filled, with milled (beaded) rims, chased end pieces with barrel hinges, a straight milled bridge with amber celluloid nose pads on pad arms, and cable (riding bow) temples, one bare coiled wire and one sheathed in cream celluloid. They come in a mustard pebble-grain leatherette clamshell case lined with brown felt, stamped in gold "When Your Eyes Grow Dim See" with a worn name and an address reading 229 Wall St. ... Muskogee. With the temple stamp illegible, the frame maker is unidentified. The style fits about the 1920s to 1940s.
Help identify this item
We could not identify this piece. If you know the maker, the name, the year or where it came from, please tell us below. Photos of a marked copy help most.
Clues to age and where they were sold
Cable or riding bow temples, which wrap around the ear, were standard on wire spectacles from the 1890s into the 1930s, and nose pads on metal frames became common in the 1920s and 1930s, though optical experts note the style continued into the 1950s. The stamped case points to an optician or jeweler in Muskogee, Oklahoma, who handed out cases printed with a slogan and street address. On the temple, the frame maker's stamp was not readable in the photos.
Round gold wire spectacles with cable temples in a stamped case
These antique round gold-tone wire rim eyeglasses with cable temples and a pad bridge are full-rim spectacles with two perfectly round glass lenses held in thin metal rims. The metal is gold, a soft pale yellow gold tone typical of gold-filled frames, and the lenses are clear glass. They come with a clamshell hard case covered in mustard yellow, a dull olive-mustard pebble-grain leatherette, lined with brown flocked felt.
Each rim has a fine milled (beaded) edge running around the front. At the outer edges are short end pieces with chased decoration (a small repeating wave and chevron pattern) and a barrel hinge held by tiny screws. The bridge is a straight bar with a milled top that drops down at each end into curved pad arms, each carrying an oval nose pad in amber, a yellow-orange celluloid. Cable (riding bow) temples curl around the ears. One is a bare coiled wire cable; the other is sheathed from the bend to the tip in cream, an ivory-colored celluloid or plastic tube. A tiny stamp is visible on the inside of one temple, but it is too small and worn to read in the photos.
The case has a rounded, oblong clamshell shape with a spring hinge. On the top of the lid is a three-line stamp in faded gold, set crosswise: a slogan in quotation marks in a tall script with flourishes, a middle line of spaced capitals that is mostly worn off, and an address line in plain lettering ending in what reads as Muskogee. A torn paper tag with fragments of blue printing and red ink, tied with thin twisted string, is caught at the hinge side of the case (seen on 1 copy).
On this copy: no measurements were taken. The lenses are dirty with specks and haze, the hinges and pad arms have green verdigris, the gold tone is worn and darkened in places on the rims and bridge, and the cream temple sleeve is yellowed. On the case, the covering is scuffed with dark spots and frayed at the edges, the felt lining is worn and dusty, and the stamp and paper tag are only partly legible.
- Shape: Full-rim round spectacles
- Material: Gold-tone metal (likely gold filled, stamp not readable), glass lenses, celluloid pads and temple sleeve
- Colors: Gold (soft pale yellow gold); pads amber (yellow-orange celluloid); temple sleeve cream (ivory); case mustard (olive-mustard leatherette) with brown felt
- Rims: Thin round rims with a milled (beaded) front edge
- End pieces: Short chased end pieces with barrel hinges and screws
- Bridge: Straight milled bar with pad arms and oval amber nose pads
- Temples: Cable (riding bow) temples, one bare wire coil, one sheathed in cream celluloid
- Case: Clamshell hard case, pebble-grain leatherette, felt lined, gold-stamped lid
- Marks: Case: optician's stamp mentioning Muskogee; temple: tiny stamp, illegible
- This copy: Not measured; dirty lenses, verdigris at hinges and pads, worn gold tone, worn case and lining, torn paper tag
Case lid, gold stamp (partly worn): "When Your Eyes Grow Dim See" D... [mostly worn, ends in M] 229 Wall St. ... Muskogee (first number could also be 225; middle of the line worn) Torn paper tag: fragments only, partial letters such as fo / a / dup / es, not readable as words Inside of one temple: small stamp, not legible
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About the Wire Rim Eyeglasses, Muskogee Case
How do I tell how old my round wire rim glasses are?
Look at the temples, bridge and stamps. Cable temples that curl around the ear were common from the 1890s into the 1930s, and nose pads on pad arms became common in the 1920s and 1930s. This pair combines both, which points to roughly the 1920s to 1940s.
Where is the maker's mark on old eyeglasses?
Usually on the inside of a temple near the hinge or on the bridge, often with a gold content mark such as 1/10 12K GF. This pair has a tiny stamp on one temple, but it is too worn to read in the photos.
What does the writing on my old eyeglass case mean?
Opticians and jewelers gave out cases stamped with their name, a slogan and a street address. This case reads "When Your Eyes Grow Dim See" with an address ending in Muskogee, so the glasses were most likely fitted in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Are antique gold filled eyeglasses valuable?
Gold filled frames have only a thin layer of gold, so their value comes from age, condition and collector interest rather than gold content.