19th Century LeMaire Opera Glasses with Original Leather Case

RESERVED FOR LISA

This impressive and beautiful pair of opera glasses has lived a long and privileged existence. These were no every day LeMaire opera glasses... But first, the mysterious company that manufactured them needs to be brought into the light.
Armand Lemaire began making optical pieces in Paris, in 1846. Lemaire Manufacturing (that's what FABi stands for), although no longer in existence, was the primary supplier of optical equipment to the Union and Confederate Armies during the American Civil War, as well as World War 1. Initially, Mr. Lemaire cut his teeth in the arts, producing simple but solid brass opera glasses. But with the outbreak of various wars, they were called upon to produce simple and solid military field binoculars. They were exceedingly successful and their binoculars were to be used, in battle, for decades to come. However, their history primarily lies in the arts, being one of the more well-known European suppliers of opera glasses during the 19th century. They produced simply stunning pieces of craft, using ivory, mother-of-pearl and precious metals to adorn beautiful, miniature binoculars for the wealthy elite. The little bee they used as a logo, visible on the eyepieces and engraved into the cross-members, was a nod to their beautiful, diminutive nature and the sheer magnification power of their pieces.
LeMaire made many opera glasses through the 19th and early-20th centuries, the majority of which were adorned in beautiful mother-of-pearl, finished immaculately, in brass. However, during the last quarter of the 19th century, the wealthiest among the well-off had the option of purchasing their opera glasses in aluminum, quite a valuable metal at the time. Because of the complexities of refining aluminum from ore, aluminum was considered more rare and precious than even gold or silver through most of the 19th century. Not many took advantage of this most-pricey of options, but luckily, the wealthy former owner of these handsome glasses did.
The body is just stunning. The mother-of-pearl is, for lack of a better word, perfect. No blemishes or cracks of any sort. The aluminum body is in great shape and in perfect working condition - the mechanism is so smooth, they could have been built yesterday. The image through the lenses is near-perfect. Overall, they're in wonderful working condition and simply beautiful. On the cross-members, there are several engravings. The member between the eye-pieces is engraved '33484.' Most would assume this to be a serial number, but to this day, nobody really knows what those longer numbers are. Most models have a 2-digit number engraved. On the lower member is an engraving of the LeMaire Bee as well as 'Made in France.' It should be noted that this date helps tremendously in dating the piece. in 1890, the McKinley Act was passed. On top of increasing duties on certain imports by up to 50%, all foreign goods were required to show their countries of origin. As such, the 'Made in Paris' puts us towards the close of the 19th century. Although available starting in 1889, the run of aluminum-made pieces came to a close shortly after the turn of the century.
Sadly, there is some bad news. Although none of the blemishes affect the function or image in any way, they must be noted. It seems that over the last 125-some-odd years, someone dropped these poor glasses on their front. You'll notice in the pictures that the rings around the larger lenses are dented, with some of the black paint that adorns each lens ring, missing. The lenses themselves aren't cracked, but there is a blemish around the outside of the lens, itself. Again, it has little to no bearing on the image which is very clear, but I prefer to disclose all of the 'character' in our pieces.
The original case is in good shape. There are no tears in the leather and the handle is complete and functional. The button-clasp works perfectly and the case seals securely. There is a small tear along the inside rim, where the clasp latches, but otherwise the red silk interior is in good shape.
The glasses measure 6.5 cm when closed and 8.3 cm when extended. They are 10 cm wide and 4.2 cm tall.

They would make a wonderful addition to any optical collector or enthusiast. They really are something.

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