[MR] Glasses in period

[Roy B. Scherer]

         Early eyeglasses -- seems that they actually date from 
before 1300, so at least the concept is period, regardless of the 
execution of any particular pair!
         See brief article below, and links at end.
-- Roy

 From <http://www.boingboing.net/>



Eyeglasses Through the Ages

Retired ophthalmologist David Fleishman created an amazing site about 
"Eyeglasses Through the Ages." From his introduction:
We generally take for granted one of the world's most important 
inventions--spectacles. Imagine what life would be like not being 
able to see images clearly or sharply. According to a January 11, 
1999 feature article in Newsweek Magazine , reading glasses are one 
of the most important inventions of the past 2000 years. They 
developed because of the work of artisans, like glassmakers, jewelers 
and clockmakers, along with some of the most brilliant scientific 
minds over the centuries. According to Dr. J. William Rosenthal, 
"Philosophers, monks, mathematicians, physicists, microscopists, 
astronomers, and chemists all played vital roles in developing this 
instrument."
No one really knows about the early history of image magnification. 
In ancient times, someone noticed that convex-shaped glass magnified 
images. Sometime between the year 1000 and 1250 crude technology 
began to develop regarding reading stones (simple magnifiers). 
English Franciscan Friar Roger Bacon (1220 -1292), in his 1268 'Opus 
Majus', noted that letters could be seen better and larger when 
viewed through less than half a sphere of glass. Bacon's experiments 
confirmed the principle of the convex (converging) lens, described by 
Alhazen (965-1038) Arabian mathematician, optician and astronomer at 
Cairo, and even earlier by the Greeks. Bacon recognized that this 
could assist weak eyes or the vision of aged persons.
Early recorded evidence demonstrates that glasses first appeared in 
Pisa, Italy about the year 1286. Technically, they were formed from 
two primitive convex shaped glass/crystal stones. Each was surrounded 
by a frame and given a handle. These were then connected together 
through the ends of their handles by a rivet.


PICTURES:
<http://www.antiquespectacles.com/>

TIMELINE:
<http://www.antiquespectacles.com/timeline/timeline.htm>

MORE TIMELINE:
<http://www.antiquespectacles.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=1&page=1>

end

                 - - Roy B. Scherer
  [8 N. Sheppard Street, Richmond, VA 23221; (804) 355-7612]
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                 "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."
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