Protective spectacles

These tinted, steel rimmed glasses were worn by a furnaceman at an iron or steel works to protect his eyes from the glare of the furnace. The blue-tinted lenses would filter-out the red and infra-red radiation from the steel furnace.

The owner of these spectacles worked for William Baird and Company whose iron and steel empire centred on the Gartsherrie Iron Works in Coatbridge.