SpectacleFrames.org

The history of eyeglasses spans across human civilization, and more than one brilliant mind was able to figure that magnification made things easier to see.  Take a moment and enjoy this brief exploration of the history of eyeglasses.

Earliest Ideas

The earliest known ideas about eye lenses were said to be found in Egyptian paintings, which is not altogether too surprising given the advancement of that culture.   Emperor Nero’s tutor, Mark Rennie, is credited with the first written record of someone using magnification to read, stating that small letters can be better seen through a glass of water.  Some rumors that Nero himself used an emerald for viewing through.  The Book of Optics was published in 1021 and was translated into Latin in the 1200’s.

Eyewear Starts Taking Off

By the time Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals in 1784; wearable eyeglasses had been around about 500 years.  Lenses treating astigmatism where invented in Great Britain in 1825.  This was by no means the only trick in town though, and in many places hand held styles still where the main fashion into the early nineteenth century.

Modern Eyewear in the United States

The eyeglasses we would recognize today can likely be traced to the 1950’s when plastics became readily available and cheap.  Today, corrective eyewear is more of a need than a luxury and most health plans in the US offer at least some eyeglass coverage, with more and more people getting the care they need at ever younger ages.  Eyewear today takes any and every form that we ask it to, including prescription ski goggles, swim goggles, safety glasses, and paintball masks.  Options available in lenses and frames today were unheard of as few as forty years ago, metals like titanium and aluminum.  Though available, they were not cost effective to wear in frames.  The costs of eyeglasses were drastically reduced when eyewear became available online in 2005.

Specialty Eyewear

If you need it, we’ve got it.  There are several athletic gear companies like Adidas and Converse who not only make reading glass frames, but also eyewear for serious sports uses.  I have a pair of these for horseback riding, for skiing, and my husband finds paintball much more enjoyable with a prescription mask.  It isn’t always fogging up on him, and being able to see who you are shooting at is always a plus.  And really, what is the point of wearing swim goggles you can’t see out of?  The same goes for personal protection equipment, poor vision is not contusive to work safety.