Chatelaine scent bottle in brass with engine turning decor and a Stanhope lens

Chatelaine scent bottle in brass with engine turning decor of alternate stripes. The latch top, shaped as a crown with cork, slides up the suspension chains ending with a finger ring. On the stopper there is a Stanhope lens (optical bijou). A stanhope or stanho-scope is an optical device that enables the viewing of microphotographs without using a microscope. They were invented by René Dagron in 1857. Dagron bypassed the need for an expensive microscope to view the microscopic photographs by attaching the microphotograph at the end of a modified Stanhope lens. He called the devices bijoux photo-microscopiques or microscopic photo-jewelry.