What is it with bookish people and glasses? Do the countless hours we spend deciphering small print make us more susceptible to needing a second lens (or two) to look through? Did those childhood nights reading by moonlight, or under the covers with a flashlight do us in?

This week I’m thinking about glasses, so I’ll make you think (and write) about them, too. I’ll save images of (lucky) be-speckled folk for another time; this week, let’s focus on the instrument itself.

Pierre Dubreuil, Ombres d’Optique, 1929. Photograph.

Aram Moon, Mr. X’s Wonder Glasses, circa 2010. Automaton (sterling silver, brass, ruby, rubber bands, plastic, eyelash, twigs). Via Mikhail Zakin Gallery.

Arman (Armand Fernandez), Colère de Lunettes (Eye-glasses anger), 1970. Mixed media (fragmented eye-glasses, acrylic paint mounted on board).