Retro Spectacles Eyewear

Eyeglasses or Spectacles.....what is the difference?  Today, the terms are used interchangeably.  Historically, "eyeglasses" was the word which was used to describe eyewear with no sidebars (temples).  "Spectacles" referred to frames with sidebars (temples).

"Reading stones" (simple magnifiers) first appeared around 1000-1250 AD.  The first recorded evidence of glasses appeared in Italy around 1286 AD.

By the middle of the 15th century, Florence, Italy led in the innovation, production and spread of spectacles throughout Italy and beyond.  By the end of the 15th century, spectacle peddlers sold glasses on the streets of Western Europe.  The purchaser tried on several pairs until finding one for his visual preference.  Demand for spectacles increased considerably after the mid 1600's when the first newspaper, the London Gazette, appeared. 

The Spanish considered wearing spectacles a status symbol and wearing of them a sign of surperior intelligence and nobility.  But the Spanish remained in the minority.  The stigma of needing to wear glasses in many countries lasted well into the mid 20th century.

The earliest spectacle frames were made of wood, horn or bone.  Leather frames had a short life span form the 16th to the middle of the 18th century. The first frames were for round lenes, followed by oval and then rectangular styles became popular by the mid 1830's.  Frame materials progressed to brass, tortoiseshell, baleen, steel, gold and silver.  Cases for these frames were often finely crafted.

Eyeglass wearers eventually emphasized style.  Newer plastics in the early 1900's brought in a new era in frame styling.  Sunglasses became quite popular in the 1930's and by the 1950's, spectacles had become a fashion accessory in Europe and North America.

Today, there are many materials used in and design of spectacle frames to suit many tastes.  Choices for eyeglass lenses and add on features are abundant.