So for this month’s blog post we thought we do something a little different.
So why not grab a cuppa, sit back, relax and join us on a journey through the history and evolution of eyeglasses.
It’s amazing to think that there was a time not so long ago, that if you couldn’t see, you were very unlikely to be able to function in normal society. So next time you put on a pair of Tiger Specs Reading Glasses just remember how lucky you are that this invaluable technology is cheap and readily available to anyone that needs it.
Early Days of Glasses Evolution
Abbas ibn Firnas is credited as with the invention of ‘Reading Stones’ in around the 9th century AD, and this is amongst the first common use of lens technology. Made from quartz crystal and polished to a fine lustre, these stones would have been placed over text to help aging scholars decipher text.
The next stop on our journey takes us to 13th century Italy where the monks needed help with often complicated and detailed writing and translation. So reading stones were developed into spectacles, and once the Christian monks developed them it didn’t take long for this amazing tech to become popular amongst the nobility and academics of the time.
By as early as 1301 there were guild regulations in place, controlling the sale of specs and The Guild of Venetian Spectacle Makers was formed in 1320.
These early eyeglasses weren’t like anything you would see on Tiger Specs.
Early glasses consisted of two convex magnifying glasses, riveted together to form what was known as ‘rivet spectacles’. The earliest example of this style we have is believed to date back to around 1400 and was found in Germany.
Middle Ages of Glasses Evolution
During the middle ages there was developing trade across all of the known world and glasses were something that found a use across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
There is evidence that suggests that glasses were being worn in China by the time of the early Ming Dynasty (14th to 17th century) and some have suggested that they may have come across the technology independently. Though this has yet to be proved.
Most evidence suggests that Italy was the centre for glasses manufacturing with large shipments being sent to the middle and far east.
Modern Times of Glasses Evolution
Fast forward a few hundred years and we get to the 18th century and another major development in reading glasses comes about.
Benjamin Franklin was a true polymath. Writer, scientist, politician, intellectual and more importantly the inventor of the ‘double spectacles’, more commonly known as Bifocals.
In a letter to his friend, George Whatley, he stated
“I therefore had formerly two pair of spectacles, which I shifted occasionally, as in travelling I sometimes read, and often wanted to regard the prospects,” Franklin wrote. “Finding this change troublesome…I had the glasses cut, and half of each kind associated in the same circle. By this means, as I wear my spectacles 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. ”
Where would we be without this amazing innovation? More-so that Benjamin never sought to make money from his invention and allowed the idea to be used for free.
Fashion Icons of Spectacles
Over the course of the 20th century wearing glasses began to lose the stigma of “a sure sign of the weakling and the mollycoddle” and began to be seen as a statement of personal style and intellect.
Notably the likes of rock and roll stars like Buddy Holly and John Lennon started to be seen wearing glasses that became synonymous with their signature style.
And nowadays you can buy a huge variety of reading glasses to suit any style.
But you know this because you are on the Tiger Specs website. A true destination for stylish and practical readers and sun readers for all occasions.
Don’t forget that we have over a decade of experience in glasses retail and we use the latest technology to help you choose the perfect reading glasses.