CR5 Issue 161 Oct 2018

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History The History of Specs By Catherine Rose Said to be man’s fifth most important invention, many of us see our spectacles as an indispensable dispensable. And with the array of modern designs available now, they are usually a fashion statement too. It’s a far cry from the 1930s when they were described as ‘medical appliances’. Wearing glasses has often been associated with stigma and it wasn’t really until the 1960s and 70s – when figures in the public eye such as John Lennon, Michael Cane and Elton John turned their glasses into a signature style – that they began to be seen as potentially desirable accessories. But where did the idea of wearing lenses over your eyes to help correct your sight even begin? Lenses have been around for a long time. The properties of optical lenses were known as far back as the ancient Greeks. The Vikings would grind lenses out of rock crystal, and in the 12th century in Europe, smooth-bottomed spherical magnifying lenses were called ‘reading stones’. It is generally accepted that the first actual spectacles were made in northern Italy in the late 13th century and that they were in accepted use by the 1350s, with Italy exporting large numbers of eye glasses to the Middle and Far East. The lenses were manufactured by highly skilled ‘cristalleri’ at the famous Venetian island’s Murano glassworks, to exacting criteria. One of the earliest (if not the earliest) artworks showing people wearing spectacles and using lenses is a series of frescoes by the Italian artist Tommaso da Modena, completed in 1352 at the Basilica san Nicolo in Treviso. They show Cardinal Hugh, or Hugo, of Provence wearing a pair to read with, and Cardinal Nicholas of Rouen attempting to decipher a text using a monocular lens on a handle. It is no coincidence that the order from which these cardinals came, the Dominicans, were known as the ‘carriers of the sciences’. During this time, spectacles would not have had arms or earpieces but would have been made up of two magnifying lenses attached to a metal fame or holder that could be riveted to grip the nose (also known as pince nez or rivet spectacles). The spectacles would have acted like reading glasses, with convex lenses to correct long-sightedness only (hyperopia and age-related presbyopia). In 1604, the well-known scientist and astronomer Johannes Kepler explained how convex and concave lenses could correct both long and short-sightedness (myopia) and, in 1629, The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers was formed in England. Their slogan was ‘a blessing to the aged’. Although rigid rod side arms for spectacles were dreamt up as early as the beginning of the 1700s (possibly by the London optician Edward Scarlett), the innovation didn’t catch on initially, with people favouring the use of lorgnettes and scissor glasses until the late 18th century, even after optician James Ayscough improved on them by adding folding hinges. Lorgnettes 36 Log into www.cr5.co.uk your local community website!
Scissor Glasses It is polymath and US founding father Benjamin Franklin who is often credited with having invented bifocals (the forerunner to today’s varifocals) to correct both short and long-sightedness in the same pair of spectacles. They were invented at some point during the mid to late 1700s and this belief is based on a letter Franklin wrote to his friend George Whatley, where he states that he is ‘happy in the invention of double spectacles, which serving for distant objects as well as near ones, make my eyes are useful to me as ever they were.’ Although Franklin does not actually say he invented them himself, his reputation as a scientist and inventor meant that many took it to mean he did. But another theory is that he bought them on a visit to England and the true inventor remains anonymous. The debate will probably never be completely settled. The first glasses for correcting astigmatism (where the eye is rugby ball shaped causing a blurred ‘double’ image) were invented in 1825 by a British astronomer named George Airy. By 1850, modern ‘temple’ glasses (with arms and a ‘temple’ that fits over the ears) were in use, and frame designs continued to evolve for comfort and practicality. In the early 19th century, under the direction of optical scientist Moritz von Rohr, the lens manufacturer Zeiss came to dominate the spectacle lens field with their spherical point-focus lens known as Punktal®, and for the first time the wearer could see clearly through the whole of the lens, not just the centre of it. Zeiss was also able to move away from the limitations of what had previously been the only lens available – the round optical lens – to create spectacles in more ergonomic shapes that better fitted the wearer. The 20th century saw a huge surge forward in spectacle technology with the introduction of polarisation, plastic frames, lightweight and photochromic lenses, specialist eyewear and, of course, contact lenses. The 1950s brought us the NHS and its now legendary NHS specs to the masses. Their iconic range of frames, typically either round wire ones or solid black plastic, is now seen as the ultimate retro chic. To advertise call Lucy on 01737 557888 or 07703 209292 37
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CR5 Issue 161 Oct 2018

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