Historical information

These magnifying eyeglasses belonged to Dr William Bottomley. Dr Bottomley received his Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Melbourne in 1906 and had a medical practice on Collins St, Melbourne. He built a log cabin in Emerald which he would use on weekends. He was a member of two syndicates who purchased land from Carl Axel Nobelius nursery property. Emerald Pty Ltd purchased 600 acres and with it developed the Emerald Country Club, including a golf course and properties.

The Nobelius Station Estate purchased 300 acres, which includes sites of the current Nobelius Heritage Park and Emerald Lake Park.

Bottomley Drive in Emerald is named after Dr Bottomley.

Significance

This object is of historic significance as it provides insight into an early design of a late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century piece of medical equipment.
The object is also of social significance as they belonged to Dr William Bottomley, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Emerald Country Club.

Physical description

Burgundy-coloured, cylindrical eyeglasses case. Lid closes with a snap fastener. The inside of the lid has the maker's label and the outside has the model of glasses printed in gold lettering. Early designs of magnifying eyeglasses date back to 1876 (Kwitko et al., 1998).

Inscriptions & markings

Exterior of lid:
"SPEERA" /
MAGNIFIERS. /

Interior of lid:
OPTICIANS TO /
H.M. GOVERNMENT. /
W. WATSON & SONS /
ESTABLISHED 1837 TD /
313 /
HIGH HOLBORN /
LONDON /