The history of eyewear: from reading stones to accessories
Nowadays we take for granted the fact of entering an optical store and choosing a pair of glasses, when the need arises. But how did our ancestors do it? What were the solutions available to those with vision problems?
Let’s find out together the interesting history of eyewear and the curiosities regarding their origin and their inventor.
How prescription glasses were born
Without a doubt, we are talking about one of the pivotal discoveries of humanity, comparable to the wheel or fire. The invention of glasses is in fact revolutionary because it changes the fate of a large part of humanity, otherwise condemned to live in discomfort and physical handicap. Obviously, the first lenses were really rudimentary and without the frame we know today but, despite the thousands of experiments made, the original intuition certainly represented an unparalleled success.
The first traces regarding complaints related to visual disorders date back to Cicero who, not seeing well, was forced to have slaves read the texts. Nero, on the other hand, felt relief in watching gladiatorial fights through a transparent green stone, which helped him in daytime vision in full sunlight.
Who invented glasses?
The invention of the first polished lens for visual support can be traced back to the Arab scholar and astronomer Ibn al-Heitam (ca. 965-1040 AD), who suggested using a glass sphere for optical magnification (a magnifying glass). However, his idea was not applied until much later, around 1240 AD, in the monastic environment.
In this period, in fact, some monks further developed the invention of Ibn al-Heitam and made reading stones: special magnifying glasses made of rock crystals and quartz. However, it was in Murano that the great turning point for the eyewear sector took place: in the 13th century, the skilled master glassmakers came to the creation of two convex lenses set in two wooden circles. This is the first, primordial form of today’s prescription glasses!
Over time, the search for maximum comfort with regard to the frame continued. Once achieved, the focus was on the quality of the lenses, to allow optimal vision from every angle. Until then, in fact, focusing could only be done by rotating the head towards the object and positioning it exactly at the center of the lens.
Over the years, wood was replaced with lead to make the frame, and then moved on to iron, silver, gold, leather, tortoise shell, horn, whale stick – precious materials that were obviously only available to the wealthiest people.
In the 18th century, monocles and lorgnettes also arrived, the latter to be held in front of the eyes supported by a temple handle. During the following century the era of the pince-nez began, very bourgeois, made without side rods but fixed on the nose with tweezers.
Since then, the evolution of prescription glasses has been rapid and surprising, considering today’s technological advances and the creation of progressive lenses, for all types of screens, for driving up to modern contact lenses.
