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The History of Spectacles
The invention of spectacles profoundly influenced
progress in the arts and sciences, yet we do not know whom to
thank for this invention. It is said that Marco Polo, whilst visiting
China in 1270, observed elderly Chinese using spectacles.
1200-1499
In the western world, the invention of spectacles
is believed to have occurred between 1268-1289. Riveted spectacles
to correct presbyopia (the inability to focus on objects that
are near) were one of the earliest pairs invented. The wearers,
mostly monks and scholars, held the lenses in front of their eyes
or balanced them on their nose since any movement would send the
lenses falling .The invention of the printing press in 1452 and
the growing availability of books prompted the mass production
of inexpensive spectacles that were sold in cities by peddlers.
The middle and lower classes began wearing spectacles mounted
in leather, wood, horn, bone or even light steel. The upper classes
on the other hand, favored more genteel, although cumbersome,
hand-held spectacles with frames of gold and silver.
1500-1899
The first significant advance in frame design
occurred in the 1600s with lenses fixed to a rigid bridge rather
than riveted, allowing them to stay in place. Quizzing glasses,
small single lenses with decorative stems, and hand-held scissors
glasses, became favorites among famous individuals such as Goethe,
Washington and Napoleon during the early 1700s and early 1800s.
Between 1725 and 1750, a London optician designed the first temple
spectacles, while Ben Franklin invented bifocals.
Ornate prospect glasses, French lorgnettes and
miniature spyglasses became all the rage in pre-Revolutionary
France. In the late 1800s, Teddy Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge
made Pince-Nez and trifocals popular, while cylindrical lenses
for astigmatism became available.
1900-Present
The 20th century as a whole became a time of gradual
and dramatic change in the eyewear world. Along with progress
in lens acuity and frame shapes, eyewear became, and still is,
a popular accessory for both men and women whether worn plain
or in prescription strength.
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Other articles of interest on the Glasses2you web site:
A
brief history of spectacles | Designer
glasses | Glasses
| Glasses Direct
| Glasses
for computer work | Guide
to buying glasses online | Reading
Glasses |
