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Ophthalmic Heritage & Museum of Vision

At the Theater: 1870 - 1900

In a Concert. Illustration.

 

By the end of the 19th century, binocular opera glasses had become much more precise tools for viewing theater and theatergoers.  These binoculars were more comfortable to use than their predecessors and were considered an improvement over monocular spyglasses.  The binocular was never truly inconspicuous due to its size, but it made up for this with its style.

The binocular was popular in European society due to embellishments to the exterior, including expensive materials and the addition of a handle. Similar to monoculars, early binoculars were covered in mother of pearl, horn, ivory, gold, and silver. Expensive materials meant that early binoculars were exclusively for the very wealthy, which only made them more enticing.
Binoculars
In Binoculars
The most striking improvement in binoculars came in 1870 when Ernst Abbe of the Carl Zeiss Company created the binocular prism. The prism acted like Sir Isaac Newton’s mirror, allowing the tube lengths of the binoculars to be shortened. Thus the user was finally able to see a larger image without a long optical tube.
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