Boneham Peters Optometrist


Sydney CBD 02 9262 2555

Mosman 02 8043 6890

info@bonehampeters.com.au

mosman@bonehampeters.com.au

Follow Sydney CBD

Follow Mosman

early History of spectacles

Spectacles have been nominated as one of the most important inventions in the last two thousand years effectively ‘doubling the active life of everyone who reads or does fine work- and prevented the world being ruled by people under 40’. They seemed to have been invented by a craftsman living at or near Pisa, and consisted of two convex glass discs enclosed in metal or bone rims with handles centrally connected and were either made to sit clamped on the nostrils or held before the eyes. The actual date of construction seems to have been around 1286, however first inventor’s name is not known. A dominican friar, Giordano da Pisa, seems to have met the person, stating in a sermon in February 1306 that  “It is not yet twenty years since there was found the art of making eyeglasses, which make for good vision … And it is so short a time that this new art, never before extant, was discovered. … I saw the one who first discovered and practiced it, and I talked to him.” It seems that the inventor of the eyeglasses did not want to share his new found technology. It took an enterprising friar friend of Friar da Pisa to develop this technology. Friar Alessandro della Spina also got to see the first eyeglasses and, being a real renaaisance man and artisan, was able to apply his great skills to making eyeglasses for himself and others and also spread this information to interested artisans. Very quickly it seemed Venice became a major area for making eyeglasses. Probably because the area was famous for glass making and possessed artisans who could apply their skills to creating the required lenses for spectacles. Initailly spectacles were probably made by goldsmiths using precious metals. As such spectacles would have been initially a feature of the well to do. Spectacles are still manufacutured in Itay to this day varying from artisans, manufacturing luxury eyewear in various cities around Italy to the largest spectacle company in the world, Luxottica, being based in Milan.

  • Reference: Ilardi. V. 2007. Renaissance Vision. From spectacles to telescopes. American Philosophical Society

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Metal Frames:  Titanium

Metal Frames: Titanium

Titanium Titanium is a high grade metal used in a lot of the frames we sell here at Boneham Peters. It is an ultra light, strong, anti-corrosive and hypo allergic material that makes it ideal for glasses. It is sometimes mixed with other metals such as copper to...

What are ACetates

What are ACetates

Here at BONEHAM | PETERS we only source products that are the highest quality.  This is why our plastic, or to be more accurate, our bio plastic frames are made from acetate materials.  Acetates are natural products made from wood pulp and cotton, This...

District Vision runs into our Mosman store

District Vision runs into our Mosman store

The iconic 'athleisure' brand are now at our Mosman store, boasting a beautiful collection of althetic eyewear. District Vision has been anointed “zenwear” by fans of this running apparel company that seeks to promote mindfulness in addition to high end running...