Optical uses of fans

In Europe, particularly, in the 1600’s, a large part of the ‘social’ life consisted of observing others who attended the theater and other similar events. A blunt, but appropriate term for this would be ‘spying’. One instrument used for this purpose was the ordinary prospect glass (small telescope). Another was the ‘jealousy-glass’ similar to a periscope, with which observers surreptitiously viewed their subjects from a 90 degree angle. This ‘nosey’ habit, however, began to be considered offensive to many prompting numerous complaints by prominent socialites. One such person, Anne Marie Lepage¹ in 1745 complained of the excess use of prospect glasses at the theatre: ‘I entered my box. Hardly was I seated when I noticed twenty glasses pointed toward me’. Protests such as these did not, however, deter those bent on scrutinizing their objects of interest. To the contrary, they were prompted to find ingenious ways to conceal their visual aids. Therefore, late in the 1700’s, small telescopes were placed in ladies’ fans so that they could inconspicuously ‘peep’ at their subjects.

Authors and Affiliations

1. New Orleans, LA, USA

   J. Wm. Rosenthal

Editors and Affiliations

1. Madison, Wisconsin, USA

   Daniel M. Albert

2. Tübingen, Germany

   Claudia Zrenner

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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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