In the world of eyewear, few accessories have captured the imagination quite like the monocle. Widely regarded today as an eccentric throwback from an earlier age, the monocle began life as a fairly simplistic and imperfect device for correcting eyesight. But something odd happened during the 19th century: The unassuming corrective lens began taking on an entirely new significance as a powerful symbol of class, intellectual prowess, and cultural identity.  But why did this simple optical device evolve into a status symbol? And why did people start wearing monocles in the first place, when spectacles ...Read More