Pince-nez

Reading notes

• Ariadne §23 pince-nez on a broad black ribbon

  A rimless spring-bridge eyeglass style, clipped to the nose without earpieces, often worn on a ribbon or cord as a fashionable or professional accessory in the late nineteenth century.

• Without a Position §4 pince-nez

  Spectacles with no earpieces, gripped to the bridge of the nose by a spring; period marker of an older, more deliberate official.

• The Bride §22 pince-nez

  Spectacles with no earpieces, held on by a spring gripping the bridge of the nose -- fashionable eyewear of the educated classes, worn here by Nina Ivanovna along with a diamond ring on every finger.

• A Case from Practice §7 pince-nez

  A pair of spectacles that clips to the bridge of the nose without arms or a fitted frame, held on by spring tension alone -- fashionable eyewear of the period, worn here by the governess as part of her genteel self-presentation.

• An Enigmatic Nature §2 pince-nez

  Spectacles with no earpieces, held on by a spring that grips the bridge of the nose -- fashionable eyewear of the educated classes, prone to sliding off, as it does here.