A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct the vision in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string. The other end of the string is then connected to the wearer's clothing to avoid losing the monocle. The connoisseur of antiquities Philipp Von Stosch wore a monocle in Rome in the 1720s, in order to closely examine engravings and antique cameos, but the monocle did not become an article of gentlemen's apparel until the nineteenth century, introduced by the dandy's quizzing glass of the 1790s, best remembered in the first cover of The New Yorker, repeated once annually, in February, ever since.