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| Eyeglass Museum: Shibuya | |||
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Among the many weird museums in Tokyo, the Eyeglass Museum in Shibuya must be one of the strangest. Like a 19th century English lord's folly, it occupies two floors of the Iris Megane Store. On the 7th floor, you'll find a collection of eye wear from Europe and Asia from the 13th century to the present day, along with engravings from the 18th century showing spectacular fashions in monocles, pince nez, glasses with handles, etc.
There's not much new when it comes to frames and lenses - while it's not illustrated in this museum, the great violinist Paganini was famous for his blue shades back in the 1820s. And from the looks of it, John Lennon's famous 1960s round NHS specs were old-fashinoed in 19th century Japan. There are some fantastically ugly frames on display, particularly in the Japan 1980s case. A photo shows an NHK announcer in 1984 wearing a pair of bulky, square, black rimmed glasses that look like wing mirrors from a car. The case holds examples that are even larger, with thicker frames, like something Brains from Thunderbirds would wear. The real joy is to be found on the 6th floor of the building. There is a complete reconstruction of a mid-19th century eyeglass factory from the French Alps. Two badly chipped mannequins man the machines on benches, helpfully labeled with signs to differentiate lathes, grinders, polishing barrels, drills, etc. In cases on this floor are more valuable antique optical equipment such as 19th century binoculars and microscopes, quadrants, etc. - in fact anything with a lens. The museum has a rather delapitated feel to it, as if its dotty owner has lost interest in his own collection. Hardly any of the exhibits are labeled with anything more than just a name or a date - no other details about provenance, usage, history, etc. by Richard Jeffery |
Eyeglass Museum
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