EYE SPY

In the 1880s, apprentice jeweller Joseph Müller, 22, arrived in Cape Town from the Black Forest, Germany. He later qualified in Britain as South Africa’s first optician, and founded the family business in 1890. Two of his five sons became optometrists, as did three grandsons and great-grandson Peter, who still runs the business. It now has six branches, but the Longmarket store remains iconic. Its facade boasts what has been described as “the finest surviving art deco shopfront in Cape Town”. It was designed by local artist Frank Spears. Parts of the interior, like the counter, date to 1890. Peter Muller spent a lot of time in the store growing up, watching his father at work. During World War 1, a mob threatened the store one night, seeing Mullers — then spelt Müllers — as German-aligned. “That was the end of the umlauts on the u,” Peter says. mullers.co.za