After 20 years in the estate sale business, antique appraiser Kathy Finch has come to know many collectors and inevitably became one herself. Her 1920s East Dallas home is stuffed with vintage furniture and art, and betrays her weakness for what she coyly terms “girly” collectibles such as perfume bottles, fans, gold and sterling-handled Victorian umbrellas … even a tiny pair of pearl-handled Lady Derringers. One of her most distinctive passions is opera glasses, be they pierced ivory or hand painted with scenes. For her these artifacts evoke romantic visions of the past, where fine ladies strolled through velvet-draped corridors during intermission at the theatre, flirting behind fans and spying delicately on the gentlemen with the aid of these lavishly adorned, palm-sized binoculars.

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Virtually all the lenses in opera glasses were made in Paris, says Finch, by manufacturers such as Lemaire, La Reine, Denise, Badere, Audemair, Iris and Marel. All of her collection are French except for the black enamel glasses inlaid with the silver bird design – those are Japanese. Her only pair with “provenance” (belonged to someone famous) are the very smallest ones, which came from the estate of author Richard Condon (The Manchurian Candidate). Some exotic examples are finished with leather and abalone. A number are the more traditional style of glasses encased in classic white mother-of-pearl, while others vary in shades of amber, pink, black and iridescent. Among the most collectible, according to Finch, are those with the lorgnette handles and cases.

Does she ever take one of her treasures to a dramatic performance? “Of course,” Finch smiles. “Some of them actually work.”