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Headline: Nine American President's Glasses To Be Auctioned

Caption: PICTURE SHOWS: Bill Clinton donated his Italian-made Safilo Elasta eyeglasses, with a photo of Clinton at his Oval Office desk wearing the exact or similar glasses. ...... STORY COPY: An extraordinary collection of eyeglasses belonging to nine presidents is to be auctioned. The collection features glasses from presidents Truman, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, G. Bush, Clinton and G.W. Bush. Dr. Spencer E. Sherman, formerly associated with the Museum of Ophthalmology in San Francisco, now the Museum of Vision, collected the eyeglasses. Many former Presidents donated their glasses to the museum. Each pair of glasses is framed in its own presentation shadowbox. Harry S. Truman’s iconic round eyeglasses were gifted to Dr. Sherman. Truman inscribed a photo, “To Dr. Spencer E. Sherman / From Harry S. Truman.” Truman wore glasses for the majority of his life. Lyndon Johnson’s green Victory 6 USA bifocal eyeglasses are framed in a shadowbox displaying a photograph of LBJ wearing a similar or exact model. LBJ was the first president to wear contact lens. Richard Nixon wore the reading glasses being auctioned on a five-week 1985 journey around the world. Nixon visited China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Pakistan, Turkey, and Great Britain. The reading glasses are framed with a January 13, 1994 letter from Nixon to Dr. Sherman regarding the ex-President’s voyages. The note was addressed from Nixon’s Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey office. Gerald Ford wore his amber Terri Brogan eyeglasses for years. In an accompanying letter, Ford wrote Dr. Sherman in part, “I have used this pair for years, since I am a bit near-sighted. They have served me well...'' Jimmy Carter’s Foremost, U.S.A. browline eyeglasses were donated in 1992. The glasses have a thick plastic frame and diamond-shaped cartouches on the handles. Ronald Reagan sent Dr. Sherman his Optics Mauritius reading glasses complemented with a letter. The 1994 letter reads in part, “…While my eyes have always been sharp...these days...my eyes need a little more help and I use these spectacles. Having been a voracious reader since I was a little boy, I simply couldn't allow this precious gift to be taken from me. / So with my trusty glasses a whole new, vivid world is opened up to me. They bring the pages of my books alive, a lovely softness to the face of my Nancy, and a renewed appreciation for the beauty of a brilliant California day.'' Logo Paris designed George H.W. Bush’s glasses being auctioned. Bush included an 8” x 10” photo of himself holding the Logo Paris eyeglasses. Bill Clinton donated his Italian-made Safilo Elasta eyeglasses, with a photo of Clinton at his Oval Office desk wearing the exact or similar glasses. George W. Bush contributed his Saville eyeglasses to Dr. Sherman’s collection. The glasses are framed with a letter partially reading, “Whether at the White House or across the globe, I used these glasses while preparing speeches, reviewing briefings, and writing letters to constituents and world leaders. I also wore these glasses while reading mysteries, biographies, and other good books. I liked to begin each day by reading the Bible, and these glasses were a crucial part of that daily ritual...'' Manhattan-based optometrist Dr. Spencer Sherman is a known scholar in the field of ocular science and history, whose rare book and document archives formed the nucleus of the collection of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, from which these pieces are deaccessioned and consigned. Bidding for the Presidential Glasses Collection begins at $25,000. The eyeglasses will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auctions on April 26, 2018.

Keywords: Eyeglasses

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