Pepys Diary.

Saturday 8 May 1669

"Up, and to the Office, and there comes Lead to me, and at last my vizards are done, and glasses got to put in and out, as I will; and I think I have brought it to the utmost, both for easiness of using and benefit, that I can; and so I paid him 15s. for what he hath done now last, in the finishing them, and they, I hope, will do me a great deal of ease".
Pepys at this time was having a great deal of trouble with his eyes, and bright light gave him discomfort.

This is an original Visard or Vizard mask, once covered with silk on the inside and velvet on the outside. To thype of mask, Pepys had tubes fitted into the eye sockets so as to cut out anu outside light and only allow him to see the page he was reading or writing.

These masks were common wear for women in the 16th and 17th centuries and similar masks were I believe used by men and women in public, in the 18th century in Italy.

More about the vizard masks here: http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/402520