On View
Not on viewEyeglasses
Dateca. 1840
Terms
- Eyeglasses
- Glass
- Steel
- England
Dimensions10.15 × 3.17 cm (4 × 1 1/4 in.)
Credit LineGift of Cummings E. Davis or George Tolman (before 1909)
Object numberTH30D
DescriptionRound lenses with steel frame; swivel hinge ear pieces. Th30a (Native American box) contained John Thoreau, Sr.'s spectacles (father of Henry D. Thoreau).
The Thoreau family saved John Thoreau's spectacles after he died, perhaps for use by another family member, but his family's evident regard for him suggests they were saved out of sentimental attachment. When John Thoreau died in February 1859, Henry Thoreau wrote in his Journal: "As far as I know, Father, when he died, was not only one of the oldest men in the middle of Concord, but the one perhaps best acquainted with the inhabitants, and the local, social, and street history of the middle of town, for the last fifty years. He belonged in a peculiar sense to the village street; loved to sit in the shops or at the post-office and read the daily papers. I think he remembered more about the worthies (and unworthies) of Concord village forty years ago, both from dealing as a trader and from friendly intercourse with them, than any one else."
The Thoreau family saved John Thoreau's spectacles after he died, perhaps for use by another family member, but his family's evident regard for him suggests they were saved out of sentimental attachment. When John Thoreau died in February 1859, Henry Thoreau wrote in his Journal: "As far as I know, Father, when he died, was not only one of the oldest men in the middle of Concord, but the one perhaps best acquainted with the inhabitants, and the local, social, and street history of the middle of town, for the last fifty years. He belonged in a peculiar sense to the village street; loved to sit in the shops or at the post-office and read the daily papers. I think he remembered more about the worthies (and unworthies) of Concord village forty years ago, both from dealing as a trader and from friendly intercourse with them, than any one else."
Collections
- Henry David Thoreau Collection
