A lorgnette is a pair of spectacles

Glasses

Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...

 with a handle, used to hold them in place, rather than fitting over the ears. It is derived from the French lorgner, to take a sidelong look at, and Middle French, from lorgne, squinting. They were invented by an Englishman named George Adams

George Adams (optician)

George Adams Sr was an English optical designer and scientific writer who was also well known as a maker of mathematical instruments and globes. Among his works are a Treatise on the Construction and Use of Globes and an "Essay on the Microscope" .-Biography:His son, George Adams Jr...

. The lorgnette was usually used as a piece of jewelry, rather than to enhance vision. Fashionable ladies usually preferred them to spectacles. These were very popular at masquerade parties

Masquerade ball

A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...

 and used often at the opera (becoming the model for today's fancier opera glasses

Opera glasses

Opera glasses, also known as theater binoculars or Galilean binoculars, are compact, low-power optical magnification devices, usually used at performance events, whose name is derived from traditional use at opera performances. Magnification power below 5x is usually desired in these circumstances...

). They were worn popularly in the 19th century.

The lorgnette was employed as a prop and affectation by early 20th century trial lawyer Earl Rogers

Earl Rogers

Earl Rogers was a successful American trial lawyer.-Life:He was the son of a Methodist minister who went to California when Earl was still a small boy. He was admitted to the bar in 1897. One of his clerks was Buron Fitts. Rogers appeared for the defense in 77 murder trials and lost only three...

, and one is featured on the front cover dust jacket of his biography, "Final Verdict", by his daughter Adela Rogers St. Johns

Adela Rogers St. Johns

Adela Rogers St. Johns was an American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. She wrote a number of screenplays for silent movies and, late in life, appeared with other early twentieth-century figures as one of the 'witnesses' in Warren Beatty's Reds, but she is best remembered for her...

.