Prince-nez

The term “prince-nez” (Lewis, 1968, p. 636) occurs when the outer appearance of Mr. Robert Ransom is described while he stands on the entrance to his wife’s room. Prince-nez are a type of antique glasses that stay on the face through clipping them on the nose and not, like normal glasses, by the temples that are put on the ears. In the 19^th and early 20^th century numerous prince-nez were manufactured but generally they can be distinguished between two types. One of them, the spring bridge prince-nez, can be adjusted easier because the spring bridge can be bent to increase or decrease the width of the bridge. The second type, the hard bridge prince-nez, is already adjusted while manufacturing and has a hard bridge so the costumer has to give the width of the bridge beforehand (Prince Nez, 2021). The picture shows an antique prince-nez probably similar to the one Mr. Robert Ransom wears.

Sources:

Lewis, R. W. B. (1968). The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

“Prince Nez”. Eyeglasses Warehouse. Retro Glasses. Old Fashioned Glasses, https://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/pincenez.html. Accessed May 27, 2021.