Discovering the Butterfly Eyeglasses Collection has been the biggest event of the past few days — it has completely taken over my mind. I don’t even remember what I was looking for anymore. I think I was trying to figure out why the butterfly glasses by Augusta Gaget and François Derome are absolutely identical in shape…And then, almost miraculously, I stumbled upon a very simple-looking website with a black-and-white photograph of a pair of glasses. It was called butterflyeyeglasses.com.
And after that, everything is a blur. I spent the next few hours in a state of pure eyewear ecstasy, scrolling through one incredible frame after another.
The eyeglasses collection was put together in the 1970s by American artist Miriam Slater. It consists of wonderfully extravagant eyewear, predominantly French and Italian frames from the 1950s anf 1960s, although the collection also includes glasses from later decades.
I was thrilled to discover several pairs in the collection that have been sitting on my eBay wish list for quite some time. They are rather expensive, but I still dream of adding them to my own collection one day. And I think I recognized a few pairs of Elton John’s glasses here!
Image credits: Images of Miriam Slater’s eyewear collection are from ButterflyEyeglasses.com. Images of Elton John are sourced via Pinterest; original photographers/sources are unknown.
But my greatest joy was discovering a pair of glasses in Miriam Slater’s collection that I already own myself. Here they are — look!
I call them feather glasses. They are a pair of French glasses from the 1950s. And here is my pair:
You can take a closer look at these glasses by clicking here. And this is me wearing them.
The collection website features only photographs, but of course, I would absolutely love to see a detailed description of every single pair: when and where they were made, where they were found, who owned them before, what brand they are… I absolutely love details. That is exactly why I document every pair in my own collection as thoroughly as possible and try to show every detail I can.
The story of Miriam and her collection inspired me enormously — and, at the same time, left me feeling a little discouraged. It made me realize just how limited my access to antique and vintage eyewear really is, and how few opportunities I have to come across pieces like these. Here in Turkey, I have never found anything remotely similar — not at flea markets, not in antique shops. Although, as I’m writing this, I’ve just had an idea: perhaps I should go hunting for vintage glasses at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. Who knows what might be hiding there?
If you love glasses, make yourself a cup of tea and spend some time enjoying this wonderful website. It’s pure eyewear therapy!
See you in the next post!