The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Advancing Education, Providing Better Care
  
 
 
Ophthalmic Heritage & Museum of Vision

The Fan

Women were not always the objects of spying; they were also the perpetrators. In 1759 the Necessaire published, "Curiosity being equal in the two sexes, and the ladies loving almost as well as ourselves to draw near to them such objects as appear interesting to them, a means of satisfying this desire without wounding modesty has been imagined; an opera-glass is set in the chief sticks of a Fan, of which ladies may make use without compromising themselves."

The first optical fans had monoculars placed in the axis of the blades. Later spyglasses were placed inside the blades themselves allowing the modest lady to spy on her neighbor behind the relative cover of her fan. The fans were particularly popular with the French court where, in 1782, Marie-Antoinette presented a diamond-studded version to the Grand Duchess of Herse-Darmstadt.
 
As fashions changed, so did optical fans. Mirrors, peepholes, borders with lenses or simply with large holes for the eyes, were all used to allow women to see without being seen. In the 1800s, manufacturers combined two fashions by fitting lorgnettes into the sides of fans.
Peephole fan
< Prev   |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  Next
Privacy Policy, Terms Of Service, Medical Disclaimer, American Academy of Ophthalmology,
© 2009 The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology