Featured 1885 Le Maire Theater Glasses

Latest find. Antiques fair in town.

Le Maire of Paris theater glasses. Engraved: "Xmas, 1885"

130 years ago, someone got themselves one hell of a nice Christmas present!!













The glasses are almost flawless. The lenses are a bit dirty, but they're not chipped/cracked or scratched. The body is in good condition. The "Le Maire" on the eyepieces are a bit worn off, and the bumblebee logo is rather faded, but you can still see it all.

 

Shangas, the opera glasses are absolutely beautiful. Indeed, Christmas in 1885 must have been very special for someone.

 

This is a nice find, particularly being dated. I would love the see the accompanying case.

 

No case to speak of. That's how they came.

 

These are lovely MOP Lamaire opera glasses. Some of their MOP opera glasses are worth quite a bit; however, the absense of the case will diminish the value.

I do see the faded bees on the eye pieces. Do they have the bee logo on the interior of the bar/band just above the focus knob? Looking from bottom to top of the glasses, the bee logo would be on left and on the right of that bar would probably be "Made in France." At least that's where the bee logo is on mine as well as the tiny ones on the eyepieces. Mine are black with the barrels wrapped in brown leather. I also have the leather case and original box. Being able to say the bee logo is on the metal, would certainly help in their value and assure that they are not reproductions. It seems there are reproductions out their of Lemaire MOP opera glasses.

http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Value_of_Lemaire_opera_glasses_from_paris

--- Susan

Where the logos would probably be on yours:


The logo, etc... marks on mine:

 

Hi!

Yes there is a (faded) bumblebee trademark on the glasses. And "63" nearby. But that's it.

I know the bumblebee is the LeMaire trademark. Mine do not say "Made in France" ANYWHERE on it.

The Mother-of-Pearl eyepieces do say: "LeMaire ---- Paris"

I think it's supposed to say "LeMaire Fabt. Paris" or something like that.

What does "63" stand for? Is that the model-number or something? Or what?

 

If the date is authentic they pre date the requirement for country of origin marking.

 

I have no reason to doubt the engraving.

 

Don't know what the 63 stands for. Agree with af, iffff 63 is a date then no C of O; however believe it is a model number. I do have a number on the bar connecting the eyepieces, "01332." I have seen mention of a few other Lemaire OG with the same number as mine. All were similar to mine, none MOP. I have seen mention of others with numbers. Some of the numbers were 2, 3, 4, or 5 digit. No one knew what they meant. Some speculated model numbers. Here are examples.

Look at comments #38 & #41 at the bottom of page:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/48716-lemaire-paris-binoculars

These are stamped with the number "38":
https://www.etsy.com/listing/89919402/antique-lemaire-fi-paris-opera-glasses

This pair is stamped with "K27161."
https://www.etsy.com/listing/113760975/1800s-lemaire-fabt-paris-opera-glasses

Several pairs with the number "63"
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-OFF-Anti...leon-bee-mark-mop-opera-glasses-/201245180373

This pair has "63" on one side and "29" on the other:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/91394959/1800s-lemaire-fi-paris-opera-glasses

Here is another pair stamped with "63", but in very poor condition:
http://www.rubylane.com/item/497632...s-w?utm_source=thefind&utm_medium=productfeed

--- Susan

 

Ruh Roh! I should have come here before I listed my antique opera glasses! I just shipped them yesterday and they were in almost perfect condition except for the little scratches on the brass parts. http://www.ebay.com/itm/121577030350?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1561.l2649

Somebody got a bargain?? I didn't see any marks on the brass (but then, I didn't know to look for any). I thought they might be from the 1920s or so.

 

This is why I make a bad dealer. I would buy these and never sell them.

 

I couldn't possibly sell these. But I will try to make a case for them. I'm basing what I'll be making off of a case I saw on eBay. It's kinda rectangular, not the form-fitting ones that most people associate with these things.

 

When did the requirement for such markings begin?

 

The US McKinley Tariff of 1890 required C of O, but only the country name.

"United States, ... required that imported items be labeled with their country of origin. If you see a mark that simply says a country name it was made after 1890"

"In 1914, the law was revised and the phrase "Made in..." was required. This is NOT a reliable indicator of age, however. There are numerous recent items that say only a country name without "made in..." Don't rely on that rule in dating items."

The following website gives more details on US country of origin stuff and such. As you are not located in the states, I just don't know when such requirements came into effect for other countries imports.

http://www.coxsackie.com/reference/cooaadt.htm

--- Susan

 

Thanks Susan. Pity it isn't more precise...

 

A little something I made to store them in safety, away from dust, grit and scratches.

Made of cardboard, leather and red velvet. The case-design is based on an actual one which I found online.



I also noticed that this thread's been featured on the homepage.

Who decides that, and why was it featured? **Is curious to know**

 

Hi,
nice storage case. Could have used VT leather.
greg

 

The guys who run the board seem to like your items......& your quality photographing .. they decide.

 

Ah OK. Interesting. Just that I noticed a lot of my stuff has become 'Featured', that's all. So I was a bit surprised.

 

Why ?
You should be honored !