Opticians in Columbia, TN

that's correct that Historic Eyewear is out of our period.... I saw nothing for us. Eyeglass Warehouse has lots of originals but few are well marked to know what's what.

Here's my final word on this as this topic keeps going on and on and on every other third thursday. There are many period frames out there that I would NEVER adapt into wearing for living history programs. I saw a bunch recently and hopefully they may end up close by (as in the other room) as they are museum quality items. They would look great for display OR for teaching purposes (not that that would do any good - sorry, I'm just getting damn tired talking about this). On the other hand, there are PLENTY of period frames that go up for sale every other month that are not in perfect condition andt are perfectly legitimate to use for our purposes. Not to sound eletist, but unless somebody actually puts a bit of study into this (I know maybe a half dozen or less, one is a living historian), you wouldn't be able to know the difference. Just because you're changing the lenses out doesn't mean you have to throw the original lenses away. This may sound shocking but they can be put back in. There are hundreds of decent spectacles out there. We're not talking about using an original marked firearm here folks and you're not talking to someone who has no appreciation for original artifacts. I'm not naieve to the fact that I'm recommending using original artifacts for living history programs, but there is a bit of historic relevance here. They're freaking eyeglasses for goodness sakes. There isn't a month that goes by where I don't see a pair for sale, and I'm not even looking for them. I do recognize their historic and monetary value. I'm not recommending we bring out one of my original punchbowls to use at some tavern. I'm not going to put burning coals in that brazier I just bought, but I MAY bring it out for display if TG wants to set up a well researched officer display. I DO recognize the fact that we THEORETICALLY teach the public who sees us when we're doing living history programs and therefore we need to present ourselves correctly. I'm fairly sure Mr. Hobbs uses original swords when he comes out to play, so I'll see his "VERY good point, Sharon" and raise him a big "Uh, Niels, what about that...?" . One of the swords he was carrying at Brown's Co. used to hang in my house at one time has a wee bit more value than any pair of original specs out there, not to mention the grip is much more fragile than a steel frame. (you know I'm only busting your chops Niels). Anyway..... there MAY be some hope down the road as Ward Oles may start making spectacles. He was studying my pair at Fort Ti a few weeks ago. Hopefully he can do them in steel. I'm not a huge fan of using silver for common or middling sorts impressions. Yes, I love what Andy did to his Townsend frames. He knows I think he's awesome. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah......................Actually, you know what the big problem is? There are a ton of people out there that constantly ask where they can find this or where they can find that. There are a ton of people out there that complain once they hear the answer from those of us who have researched a subject have to say. They end up doing what they want to do anyway. There are tons of people who pull the "too expensive" card. Well, if it's too expensive to spend $200 on a pair of frames and you only want to spend the same amount for frames as you paid for lunch yesteday, well, I respectfully suggest to you that you should get your financial priorities in order and stop spending $125 a month on computer, phone and cable services. There are a ton of people out there (and I'm not saying anything wrong against my friends who have commented, trust me) who will comment against using original frames, there are a lot of people who want want want other people to provide things for them (this being just one example), but there are damn few people out there who kick in and do ALL the work. Whether it be doing the research and sharing it for FREE, or taking that research and BRILLIANTLY altering what they have to make what they have correct, or actually PRODUCiING something for everyone to use. Man, there's a lot of Whining in this hobby. I really need to smarten up and stop talking about this. For those of you reading this I'm NOT the only one who feels this way, trust me. I'm just the only one who's dumb enough to waste his time talking about it on the internet. Sorry for the rant. You know I think the highest of you Sharon and Niels. This was by no means a personal attack. Keep up the good work.

Sharon, I had the same idea about somebody making a side business doing the modifications Mr. Kirk did. One of my unit's members might be able to do it, he hasn't weighed in yet. Thanks all for your help and advice. Greg, I'm sorry if I accidentally pushed your rant button.

Quick solution to the problem of wearing the right glasses, since so few folks had them back then (especially soldiers) - don't wear 'em! Just over 10 years ago I got lasik eye surgery in Canada for ~$800- 1000 complete. Best money I ever spent in the hobby.

Originals, in very good shape, are pretty common occurrences on eBay. I recently got a pair for $200 - which is more than they often go for, and much less than most modern frames. They're also in GREAT shape. If you look on ebay.co.uk, I think there are even more, for better prices - minus added shipping.

Godwin and Townsend and whatever other catalog houses there are are modern businesses. They do their best to provide products that are 'as accurate as they are able" using mass production methods. When they research an item, they base their whole line on that research. If they then discover that their research was inaccurate, and they have invested (????) dollars in the inaccurate. they either try to market their mistake or they go out of business trying to undo their mistake. Correcting their mistake costs (???) dollars, which they can't necessarily afford (obviously I'm guessing here). If we are willing to provide the catalog houses with accurate patterns and the funding to correct their errors, they might agree to do business our way. As I said, they are MODERN businesses trying to make a go in an extremely bad economy. Critics of the catalog houses might only be looking from an 'accuracy' frame of mind and might not be looking from the businessman's frame of mind. Further discussion along this line would involve modern politics, which is not permitted on this site, so I'll shut up now. Thanks for your tolerance.

The Eye Center of Concord (NH) put new lenses into original frames for me. Ask for Gary. AFAIK spectacles with sliding temples are c. 1820+. We need the hinged sides, and that's $45 for them *added on* to the earlyspecs base price of $285. It's a tough moral choice to buy good repro's when originals are actually cheaper.

By the way, is it me or does anyone else find it odd that people just throw out advice without having the slightest clue as to what they're talking about? That Historiceyewarcompany.com is actually a pretty neat site, but if you actually take the time to read what they sell, they make spectacles for the 1830 s on up. Blurting out "Godwin" means your research has gone as far as looking at a catalogue or website for about ten minutes (unless they've come out with something spectacular since three weekends ago). Has anyone ever noticed that I don't comment on every subject that pops up regarding the 18 th century? It means I don't know the subject very well so I can't contribute to the conversation. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone else thought along those lines? I guess I can say that as this is, theoretically, a "progressive" list (faint cry of "bullshit!" can be heard in the distance). Anyway, I'm off to the skinner auction to look at some cool original stuff. You guys have fun reinforcing everything that is wrong with "reenacting". Give em hell Steve, Sharon and Andy.

There is another consideration for getting accurate glasses (or name-your-pet-peeve) - the financial aspect of creating historical frames. If GGG has researched historical frames (which I suspect they must have done at some point) they invest in a product that resembles closest the results of their research. If they have them made for them, it involved substantial monetary outlay. If it turns out that their research was inaccurate or incomplete, are we suggesting they throw out their current product and invest in the 'correct' frames? If so, who will finance the remaking of the frames? The answer is, G. Gedney Godwin finances it. I have heard the words "Townsend" and "Godwin" used as if they are the among the accursed The facts are, they have made re-enacting POSSIBLE for thousands of people. They have placed within reach the enjoyment of spending a weekend in a past era. I'd venture a guess that many to most of us got our start with a catalog house for some part of our kit. Those who have taken the craftsmanship involved with re-enacting to another level are to be commended. However, those who can't afford anything but Townsend or Godwin shouldn't be made to feel like less because they use items purchased from either.

Eyeglass Warehouse shows a lot of sliding temple teardrop loop glasses as 18 th century, but the 18 th century material culture site claims them to be 19 th century.?

Tallman Eye Associates here in North Andover, MA did my original frames. He just asked that I loosen the screws for him so he didn't break them.