The History of Eyeglasses - Essay Example

The History of Eyeglasses Literature regarding the history and development of eyeglasses is sparse andambiguous in nature. It is generally accepted, however, that the invention probably came out of Italy during the time of the early Renaissance. Convex lenses to correct vision had been invented in Tuscany between 1280 and 1285. Despite this early invention, the reason it wasn’t believed that these lenses had been available at this earlier time period rests on a variety of science-related factors, including the late inventions of the telescope and the microscope and a general distrust of the distortions brought forward by the glass. Confusing the issue regarding the origin of the eyeglass, though, are reports in China of similar inventions coming to them earlier than the Italian invention. Spectacles may have introduced into China as early as the twelfth century, coming in from Malacca “in the Western Regions.” This date was derived by comparing the original documents and reviewing the probable date regarding when they were written given what is known about the life of the author. This also places spectacles in China at least a century earlier than had been determined based on readings of the Western texts, especially the texts coming out of Italy. (Chiu, 1936) As complex as the discussion regarding the invention of the eyeglass, certain developments in its evolution have been almost as hotly debated. Acknowledging that a large portion of the credit for this invention has been attributed to Benjamin Franklin, two other men probably played a large role in the creation and development of this specialized vision aid, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Benjamin West. Tracing through these letters, the author indicates that Franklin’s recipient had already been familiar with the idea prior to Franklin’s letter, further indicating an earlier invention. Other materials have also surfaced revolving around Benjamin West that indicated he, as well as several painters and other artists, were accustomed to wearing divided glasses for many years prior to the man’s death in 1820. However, it is unknown whether these ‘many years’ predated or postdated Franklin’s use of bifocals. However, the man that created West’s bifocals knew of other artists, particularly Sir Joshua Reynolds, who also used bifocals who would have needed them prior to Franklin’s invention of them in 1784. In addition, it would have been unlikely that Reynolds would have been able to adopt the invention from Franklin as Franklin had been in France at the time and finally, it is believed West got his idea for bifocals from Reynolds rather than Franklin. What is known is that all three men knew each other and all three men wore bifocals. (Levene, 1972) What is not know is whom exactly invented eyeglasses we are familiar with now or when. Eyeglasses, or spectacles, in the earliest forms of what might be familiar today, had its beginnings in the thirteenth century. Salvino degli Armati is widely credited as being the inventor of the familiar two-lens apparatus that rests on the bridge of the nose although English Franciscan and intellectual Roger Bacon (1220 -1292), designed a similar version a couple of decades earlier. The discovery that curved glass improved vision led to other innovations such as the telescope and microscope which led to the rise of modern science, greatly advancing the breadth of knowledge and well-being of the human race. Reading glasses themselves represent one of the most significant inventions of human kind as they were developed by a collaboration of several talented craftsmen including glassmakers, jewelers and clockmakers along with “philosophers, monks, mathematicians, physicists, astronomers, and chemists who all played vital roles in developing this instrument” (Rosenthal, 1994, p. 489). The Greeks, Egyptians, Romans and Chinese are all recorded to have experimented with varying types of ocular manipulations using glass. A prominent astronomer and mathematician in Cairo, Egypt, Alhazen (965-1038) described the principle of the convex lens which he most likely expounded from observations made by the Greeks. In his 1268 ‘Opus Majus’, Bacon formally established the principle of convergence observing that words could be seen more clearly and larger when observed through half of a glass orb. He realized that convex lenses could greatly improve vision for the far-sighted. In 1285, Armati produced the first eyeglasses that were marketed and sold. Along with sales partner Allesandro della Spina, an Italian monk, Armati offered his new ‘invention’ throughout Pisa, Italy in 1286. Not actually an invention, the glasses were more of an adaptation of glass/crystal stones shaped into two convex lenses, a concept of earlier, unknown inventors. Unlike the spectacles of today, the ‘wearer’ of Armati glasses used a handle attached to the frame to position the frames in front of the eyes. Giordano da Rivalto, a monk from the St. Catherine’s Monastery, provided the earliest known recorded statement to support the invention of eyeglasses in Italy. Giordano mentioned them by stating in a sermon on February 23, 1306 “it is not yet twenty years since there was found the art of making eyeglasses which make for good vision, one of the best arts and most necessary that the world has” (Wall, 1889). The term ‘eyeglasses’ (occhiali) Giordano used in his sermon stuck and began to spread throughout the country and through Europe. In 1313, the obituary of Friar Alessandro della Spina of St. Catherine’s Monastery declared, ‘when somebody else was the first to invent eyeglasses and was unwilling to communicate the invention to others, all by himself he made them and good-naturedly shared them with everybody.’ Though Armati of Florence is often given credit for eyeglass invention, it was most probably a forever unnamed lay-person. Armati should be given at least some credit for the proliferation of the product however (Wall, 1889). At this time in history, areas around Venice and Florence were producing some of the world’s finest glassware. The concept and development of spectacles, to no one’s surprise, received major momentum in these regions where other glass items were being crafted. The guild of crystal workers was formed in 1284 in the city of Venice because it was one of the most advanced areas for glass manufacturing. Yet, by the middle of the fifteenth century, it was the city of Florence that took the lead in the advancement of new eyeglass innovations and also led in the marketing and production of eyeglasses both within the country as well as the rest of Europe. This is proven by documents published at that time. Letters from the dukes of Milan, Francesco and Galeazzo Maria Sforza, published in 1462 and 1466 give the first detailed account regarding spectacles since their initial introduction over half a century prior. Within the city of Florence, craftsmen were manufacturing not only convex lenses in great quantity but also concave lenses for the near-sighted, at least a half century before they were reported to have been invented. Not only did the city of Florence become the leading manufacturer of spectacles that were affordable, of good quality and that were readily available, the spectacle producers of this time came to be aware of the age factor related to eyesight. They educated the public that visual sharpness declined gradually with age and made lenses of a progressive thickness to accommodate this revelation. Further evidence of this Italian phenomenon can be found in the letters from the dukes of Milan to Florentine eyeglass makers as the Milanese dukes ordered spectacles by the hundreds (Bradbury, 1967). Substantial amounts of documentation originating from the city of Florence showed the names and locations of fifty-two spectacle makers between 1413 and 1562. Eyeglasses were being manufactured in England at the beginning of the fifteenth century but the practice had been established in an area of Northwest Europe as well as in London the century before. Though artisans in cities of Germany, France, and the Netherlands began manufacturing eyeglasses at approximately the same time period with England, Florence was to reign supreme in eyeglass production with regards to quality and quantity until well into the seventeenth century. During these initial phases of manufacture, eyeglass became readily available and thus inexpensive for the common man. Documents indicate customers generally ordered several pairs of eyeglasses at the same time and thousands of spectacles were being exported from country to country throughout all of Europe by the end of the 14th century. Eyeglasses were initially made by and for the elite and the clergy, the learned faction of thirteenth century society. Relatively soon, though, the masses were able to read even into their old age. The access to this innovation was pivotal in the advancement in technology at this stage of humankind. Eyeglasses quite literally opened the eyes of all people to the advancements of the Renaissance era; science, art, and global knowledge. Of course, those who wrote the books, created the art and proposed the theories benefited from the advent of spectacles as well (Ilardi, 1993, p. 538). Tommaso da Modena’s (1325-1379) painting depicting Cardinal Hugh of Provence (1200-63) wearing a pair of spectacles in 1352 is the oldest known illustration of eyeglass use. The Cardinal had died before the artist was born or eyeglasses were available but Modena painted this new innovation onto the Cardinal’s face as a sign of his wisdom. In 1480, Domenico Ghirlandajo incorporated eyeglasses in his painting of St. Jerome (340 – 420 A.D.), the patron saint of scholars. The invention of the Gutenberg printing press in the mid-1400’s coinciding with the development of spectacles was significant. With the availability of eyeglasses, more people could read longer into their old age, creating a greater demand for affordable books. As books became easily accessible, eyeglasses became increasingly popular. Street peddlers could be seen commonly throughout London and Western Europe selling inexpensive eyeglass wear by the end of the fifteenth century. Another great boost to the growing popularity of eyeglasses was the 1665 establishment of the first newspaper, the London Gazette. Not only were eyeglasses becoming an essential part of everyday living, they were seen to signify wisdom and provided a dignified appearance to all. Spectacles from Florence were especially considered a symbol of status as the earlier made glasses were made for only the highest ranking members of society. Europeans, Italians, Spaniards and the Chinese all considered eyeglasses as a sign of advanced intellect and of aristocracy. The concept of societal status for the Chinese as well as new innovations for eyewear developed differently from the west. Merchants and missionaries brought eyeglasses into China during the early fifteenth century. In China during this time, people perceived that the more visual correction a person needed, the more knowledgeable they were as spectacles were necessary for study. This perception of wisdom led to the elevation of social status. Threaded loop spectacles were popular in China, the possible precursor of today’s style as the eyeglasses were secured to the face by looping cord over the ears with ceramic weights tied to the end of the cords. The first sunglasses on record, the tea-colored glasses, used to treat conjunctivitis, were introduced in China. These large-lens spectacles were, as today’s sunglasses, comforting to the eyes and soon also became a symbol of higher education and wisdom. After early experimentations, eyeglasses became increasingly mechanically advanced. The German spectacles industry, formed in 1535, issued regulations regarding the standards of the manufacture for eyeglasses. In 1629, King Charles I granted a charter incorporating the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers in London, but it was Germany and Italy that produced the finest eyewear in the seventeenth century. Italians, mainly in Florence, still manufactured the highest quality glass for lenses while German craftsmen made the highest quality frames. This shifted the focal point of spectacle making to Germany during that time. While early lenses of spectacles remained unclear by today’s standards, flint was added to the sand in the sixteenth century, a process that led to the creation of much clearer glass. Later, rock crystal from South America was used in place of flint rock, making the lenses more durable. With this advance of material, greater skills were required from the artisans that made the lenses. In Western Europe during the sixteenth century, the glass was ground into convex shapes before being polished and fit into frames, but in Florence, the craftsmen had been creating concave lenses for the nearsighted since the 15th century. Tinted lenses first became fashionable in the west during the 17th century. Only round lenses were worn until oval lenses became popular towards the end of the 18th century and ultimately rectangular shaped became popular by the mid 1830’s. Frames were also experiencing constant appraisals and advancements. Prior to the sixteenth century, frames were made of substances such as bone, horn or wood. Leather frames were attempted during the seventeenth century but had a short, failed life. Materials for frames evolved to brass, steel, silver, gold and even tortoiseshell for those of discriminating taste and deep pockets. Finely crafted eyeglass cases could also be purchased. As far as technology had come for eyeglasses and accessories up to the sixteenth century, one universal problem remained; they wouldn’t stay on the face, so the design for the majority of spectacles were intended to be hand held. Bow specs, which were made with a more comfortable arched bridge for the nose, resulted from this inconvenience though it was hardly the last evolution in eyeglass wear. Following the bow specs was the slit-bridge spectacles which gave some added flexibility to the nose bridge. This developed into the one piece copper wired frames with round lenses (Nuremberg style nose spectacles), which became popular throughout the 17th century. These first eyeglasses still lacked stability but this problem was solved in the early 1700’s by Edward Scarlett (1677-1743), a London optician who is credited with perfecting temple spectacles. These eyeglasses had short side pieces with a ring at the end that pressed against the side of the head above the ears at the temple. This innovation allowed for the easy applying and removal of spectacles and didn’t interfere with long hair. As with many of the particular innovations of glass wear, Scarlett cannot be proven to be the inventor of this design, but his trade card bears the earliest surviving illustration of temple spectacles. James Ayscough, another optician from London, changed this design 25 years later, an innovation which brought further comfort and needed stability. His frames had longer sides that were double-hinged in the middle and became very popular after 1752. He described these sides as “so contrived as to press neither upon the nose nor upon the temples” (OAICC, 1982). Though this design represented the height of practical eyewear to date, the design had a significant flaw as it was still difficult to keep the eyeglasses on the face without having them slide down the nose and still had to be held in place. The Spaniards followed the Chinese model of connecting the frames to ribbons which were looped around the ears, but this style never became popularly used. The style that continues to be utilized to this day, a ridged sidepiece resting on the ear was that introduced by Scarlett in 1730 (Pemberton-Sikes, 2006). Spectacles with no sides, which had been originally placed on top of the nose, reappeared around 1840, five hundred years after they had first been invented. They regained a brief popularity as eyeglasses for both men and women prior to the end of the 19th century until approximately 1935.   However, there were several other forms of lenses designed to improve vision. Small, elaborate pocket-sized telescopes (spyglasses) were sometimes hidden in fans and walking sticks and used by both men and women of the 17th century, especially when attending the theater. In 1825, Robert Bretell Bate developed the double-spring lorgnette which could be folded into a compact, single eyeglass. In London, 1783, optician Addison Smith created the first spectacle with two additional lenses that were hinged above and able to be rotated down for close work. That same year, Dudley Adams, an English optician, patented an apparatus that was attached by a headband and came with folding, adjustable drop-down lenses. These spectacles did not rest on the bridge of the nose and the distance between the two lenses could be adjusted. The so-called Martin’s Margins eyeglasses became popular in England between 1758 and 1790. In an attempt to reduce the widely perceived damage to the eyes from excessive light, Benjamin Martin (1704-1782), a London optician, developed ‘visual glasses’ in 1756. He arranged the aperture of the lenses by placing a horn annulus inside the ordinary sized frame because he believed that these smaller sized lenses were beneficial for the eyesight. They remained popular during the Revolutionary War period but interest faded in them after the turn of the 19th century. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) is credited for the innovation of Bifocals or ‘split lenses’ while visiting in London during the 1760’s. This consisted of two lenses, one for distance, one for close-up vision positioned on the same side of the spectacles with a line across the center. By 1780, bifocals were readily available to the public, but the models commonly available were frequently sub-standard to Franklin’s model (Block 2006). In 1827, John Isaac Hawkins of London coined the terms bifocal and trifocal. About 55 years later, B. M. Hanna received patents on two types, the ‘cemented’ and ‘perfection’ bifocals. More than a century had passed since their invention, but these and other bifocals continued to prove impractical and unreliable. “At the end of the 19th century the two sections of the lens were fused instead of cemented, an idea originated by de Wecker in Paris and patented in 1908 by Borsch. At the turn of the 20th century, there was a considerable increase in the use of bifocals” (Drewry, 2006). De Wecker and Borsch merely re-discovered the same concept that Franklin had invented in 1760 that had been reproduced so poorly to this point. More than a century ahead of his time, Franklin’s model was the first, ‘no-jump’ bifocal because the distant, near and the combined optical centers were all at the same place. “As I wear my own glasses constantly, I have only to move my eyes up or down, as I want to see distinctly far or near, the proper glasses being always ready,” Franklin said in a letter (cited in Block, 2006). John McAllister Sr. (1753-1830) is widely referred to as the founder of America’s optical profession. Soon after his arrival in U.S. from Glasgow, Scotland in 1775, he decided to expand his business of selling assorted wares to include spectacles. By 1799, he had established America’s first optical store in Philadelphia. McAllister had imported the eyeglasses sold in his shop until the War of 1812 when the resulting trade embargo with Great Britain forced him to either stop selling them or create his own. In 1815, McAllister began producing his own gold and silver frames and imported lenses from Italy. He developed the astigmatic spectacles in 1828 by importing cylindrical lenses. The innovative lenses were developed by Sir George Airy (1801-1892) but, as with other inventions, the person that successfully markets the product generally gets the credit for its popularity. The McAllister family continued growing its optometry business in Philadelphia for 173 years. In addition to McAllister, more than three hundred American manufacturers and retailers were involved in the new spectacle frames business in the 1820’s through 1830’s. Following McAllister’s innovations and success, eyeglass fabrication continued to expand quickly in the United States (Drewry, 2006). In 1853, optician John Bausch started a small eyeglass shop in Rochester, New York. Sales were very slow as many in the U.S. were not yet aware of the benefits gained with eyeglasses. His friend Henry Lomb gave him money in trade for lodging and an affiliation with the business which formed the now famous partnership. Following the Civil War, the company diversified its product line by developing and successfully marketing precision optical items such as telescopes, microscopes, binoculars, and camera lenses. By 1903 the company sold 20 million eyeglass lenses per year. Under the direction of Edward Bausch, microscope development and sales advanced effectively with the number of sold units exceeding 44,000 in 1903 alone. The premier lens company was also producing over half a million photographic lenses and shutters by 1903 (Kingslake, 1974). German Baron Philip Von Stosch introduced the monocle by about 1720. The popularity of this one lens eyepiece didn’t reach its apex until the 1880’s and fell sharply into oblivion about 40 years later. The ‘eye ring’, as it was initially called, owes much of its success to J. F. Voigtlander, an Austrian that was introduced to the monocle in England in the early 1800’s. He had studied optics in London and when he went home in 1814, began making monocles in Vienna. His monocles became a status and fashion statement for men in both Germany and Russia as it was worn almost exclusively by the aristocracy. Monocles continued their mystique into the early 1900’s. Following World War I, the monocle fell quickly from favor, its downfall accelerated by its connection to German military officers. The lorgnette is primarily of English decent. George Adams developed the hand held, two lenses in a frame style in the late 1700’s. It was common to adorn the frame and handle with painting or jewelry as women that could afford to be fashion conscious found it unladylike to wear eyeglasses and primarily used the lorgnette as a fashion piece rather than for its visual assistance. This device was developed from the scissors glasses that were popular in France, Germany and England until the turn of the century (Drewry, 2006). The typically elegant handle on scissors glasses had become commonplace with the more stylish element of French and German society in the late 1700’s. As evidence, both Napoleon and Lafayette owned scissors glasses. At the beginning of the twentieth century, eyeglasses of all types were becoming fashion first products as more customers wanted to appear stylish and eyeglass companies were happy to accommodate. Improved plastics technologies of that era allowed more distinctive frame styles. Sunglasses became popular in the 1930’s. By 1950, eyeglasses held firm as a fashion accessory for both Europeans and Americans. Eyeglasses were a bit slower, however, to become a fashion accessory in Great Britain. The history of eyeglasses has remained in relative obscurity to the public in general despite the fact that its evolution is fascinating and its invention very significant in the history of individual, societal and technological development. Without question, eyeglasses are one of the significant inventions in the history of man. Its positive influence in this development deserves to be fully recognized and more extensively valued. Before eyeglasses were invented, intelligent individuals who could have been much more productive with their lives were reduced to menial tasks and to progressive inactivity as they grew older and their eyesight began to fail. Science and the arts could be controlled by the learned before the invention of spectacles. Afterwards, the world had been opened to all who could read. The coincidence of the invention of eyeglasses and the era of enlightenment was no coincidence. As important and influential as he or she was, the precise identity of the inventor of eyeglasses will forever remain unknown. In 1946, Vasco Ronchi of Florence said “when it is all summed up, the fact remains that this world has found lenses on its nose without knowing whom to thank” (Ronchi, 1946). Works Cited Block, Seymour Stanton. February “Benjamin Franklin: America’s Inventor.” American History. (February 2006). Bradbury S. The Evolution of the Microscope. Oxford, London: Pergamon Press Ltd, (1967). Chiu, Kaiming. “The Introduction of Spectacles into China.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. Vol. 1, N. 2, (July 1936), pp. 186-93. Drewry, Richard D. “A Brief History of Sight.” The Midland Eye Institute. May 2, 2011 Ilardi, Vincent. “Eyeglasses and Concave Lenses in Fifteenth-Century Florence and Milan: New Documents.” Renaissance Quarterly. Vol. 29, N. 3, (Autumn 1976), pp. 341-60. Ilardi, Vincent. “Renaissance Florence: The Optical Capital of the World.” Journal of European Economic History. Vol. 22, N. 3, (1993), p. 538. Kingslake, Rudolf. “Bausch and Lomb.” The Rochester Camera and Lens Companies. Rochester, NY: Photographic Historical Society, 1974. Levene, John R. “Benjamin Franklin, F.R.S., Sir Joshua Reynolds, F.R.S., P.R.A., Benjamin West, P.R.A., and the Invention of Bifocals.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London. Vol. 27, N. 1, (August 1972), pp. 141-63. Ophthalmic Antiques International Collectors Club (OAICC). Newsletter No. (September 1982), p. 3. Pemberton-Sikes, Diana. 2006 The History of Eyeglasses. Blue Boulder Internet Publishing, (2006). May 2, 2011 Ronchi, Vasco. “Perche non si ritrova l'inventore degli occhiali?” Rivista di oftalmologia. Vol. 1, (1946), p. 140. Rosenthal, William. Spectacles and Other Vision Aids. San Francisco, CA: Norman Publishers, (May 1994). Wall, Edward John. A Dictionary of Photography for Amateur and Professional Photographer: Containing Concise Elementary Articles. London: Hazell, Watson & Viney, (1889). Warner, Deborah Jean. “Optics in Philadelphia During the Nineteenth Century.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 129, N. 3, (September 1985), pp. 291-99. Read More