Antique Lemaire Paris opera glasses with their fitted case, featuring luminous mother of pearl and beautifully aged brass. Made in France circa 1890–1910.
If only these opera glasses could tell us what they have seen—the velvet curtain rising, an orchestra warming beneath the stage, glittering costumes caught in the footlights and celebrated voices filling a grand theatre with music.
Perhaps they once rested in an elegant evening bag beside a silk program and a pair of gloves, waiting for the first notes of the overture. From a gilded balcony, they may have brought every expression, costume and dramatic final bow into view.
Marked “Lemaire Paris,” these late Victorian to early Edwardian theatre glasses are beautifully decorated with mother-of-pearl panels, warm brass-toned metal and a central focusing wheel. They come with their fitted clasp case featuring a richly coloured teal-blue velvet interior.
A wonderfully nostalgic French antique for an opera lover, musician, theatre enthusiast or collector of beautiful objects with stories still left to tell.
Details
- Maker: Lemaire Paris
- Origin: France
- Estimated date: circa 1890-1910
- Era: Late Victorian to early Edwardian
- Material: Mother-of-pearl panels and brass-toned metal
- Central focusing wheel
- Marked "Lemaire Paris" around the eyepieces
- Fitted clasp case included
- Teal-blue velvet case interior
- Opera glasses measure approx. 3.25 in (8.3 cm) across
- Case measures approx. 4.25 in (10.8 cm) long
- Antique condition