History of sunglasses and prescription glasses: from antiquity to the present
Tea history of sunglasses It dates back to ancient Rome around AD 60. C., where Emperor Nero is said to have watched gladiator fights while he held polished emerald green gems to his eyes, thus reducing the effect of the sun’s glare. The first real recorded evidence of the use of sunglasses can be found in a painting by Tommaso da Modena in Italy, 1352, showing a person wearing sunglasses.
Earlier, around the 12th century in China, court judges wore sunglasses, not to shield their eyes from the sun, but to hide any expression in their eyes, as it was important to keep their thoughts and opinions secret until the end. of each trial. These were flat panels of quartz that had been polished and then smoked to give their tint.
It wasn’t until 1430 that prescription spectacles were first developed in Italy to correct vision, and these early rudimentary spectacles soon found their way to China, where they were again smoke-tinted for use by judges. The frames were carved from ivory or tortoiseshell, and some were quite ornate.
During the 17th century, prescription glasses were used in England to help older people with presbyopia see better. In England, the Spectacle Makers Company was founded, which began by manufacturing prescription glasses for the public, whose motto was “A blessing for the elderly.”
However, the development of sunglasses remained static until the work of James Ayscough, known for his work on microscopes in London around 1750. He experimented with blue and green colored lenses, believing they could help with certain vision problems. However, it was not about sunglasses, since he was not concerned with protecting his eyes from the sun’s rays.
Prescription eyeglasses continued to develop over the next few decades, especially in regards to the design of eyeglass frames and how to make them sit comfortably on the nose. The frames were made of leather, bone, ivory, tortoiseshell, and metal, and were simply supported or balanced on the nose. The early arms or side pieces of the frames first appeared as ribbon strips that were wrapped around the backs of the ears. Instead of loops, the Chinese added ceramic weights to the ends of the ribbons that hung behind the tops of the ears. Solid side pieces finally arrived in 1730, invented by Edward Scarlett. Later, lens technology took a giant leap forward when Benjamin Franklin invented the first bifocal lens in 1780, called the “Franklin split” bifocal, which allowed presbyopic patients to read as well as see far away without the need for glasses. separate reading and distance. .
Sunglasses, as we know them today, were first introduced to America by Sam Foster in 1929. These were the first sunglasses specifically designed to protect people’s eyes from the harmful rays of the sun. He founded the Foster Grant Company and sold the first pair of Foster Grant sunglasses on the boardwalk along the beaches of Atlantic City, New Jersey. These were the first mass-produced sunglasses, and starting this year, sunglasses really started to take off. When I say “take off,” I mean that literally, because in the 1930s, the Army Air Corps asked the Bausch & Lomb company (which is still around today) to produce an eyeglass tint that would efficiently reduce the High altitude sun glare for pilots. . They developed a dark green dye that absorbed light in the yellow band of the visible spectrum.
In 1936, Edwin H Land patented the Polaroid filter to make polarized sunglasses. This type of tint reduces reflection from surfaces, such as water. Later that year, Rayban took pilot sunglass design a step further by producing the aviator-style sunglasses we know today, using this newly invented polarized lens technology. The edge of the frame characteristically sloped to the edges by the cheeks in a sort of teardrop shape, to provide complete protection for the eyes of the pilots, who regularly had to look up at the aircraft’s instrument panel. The polarized lens reduced glare from reflected light on the instrument panel. Pilots were given these sunglasses, but in 1937 the general public was allowed to purchase this aviator-style model that “banned” the sun’s rays as ray ban Sunglasses.
In 1960, Foster Grant started a huge advertising campaign to promote sunglasses, and soon enough, famous movie stars and pop stars began wearing sunglasses as part of their image. The public began to embrace this new fashion of wearing sunglasses, not only to protect their eyes from bright light, but also as a way to look good.
Today, sunglasses continue to improve with efficient UV blocking tints, eliminating all harmful UV light. Various colored tints are now available and of course the frame styles are very varied and exciting. Now you can really make a statement with your trendy sunglasses, transforming your image or creating a new look. Designer sunglasses have certainly come a long way in just a few years, and now they not only protect our eyes from the harmful rays of the sun, but are also an important fashion accessory, and it all started almost 2000 years ago! years with the Roman Emperor Nero!