The old man behind the cash register resembled a silver-haired Chekhov, even had pince-nez that had flown in from somewhere and settled on his nose
Chekhov, photographed around 1903
The cord runs from the frame down inside the coat.

Public domain · photographer unknown · Wikimedia Commons
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The pince-nez itself
Chekhov House-Museum, Moscow.

CC BY-SA 4.0 · Stas Kozlovsky (Ctac) · Wikimedia Commons · licence