The origin of spectacles (original) (raw)
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Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 2007
After the inclusion of a number of industrial diseases and injuries in the Workmen's Compensation Acts of 1896 and 1906, the government asked the Royal Society to investigate how and why glare and heat apparently caused glassworkers to develop cataracts during their working lives. The activities between 1908 and 1928 of the Glass Workers' Cataract Committee, which was made up of chemists, physiologists and ophthalmologists, are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the attempts by the octogenarian William Crookes (PRS 1913–15) to formulate a spectacle glass that was opaque to infrared and ultraviolet radiation. While providing relief for industrial workers, the research also laid the foundation for the modern sunglasses industry. Other significant work of the Committee concerned the biochemistry of the eye.
Scandinavian journal of social medicine, 1987
The wearing of spectacles in different social and edricational groups in a sample of the popirlation of cenlral Finland. Parssinen, 0. (Central Hospital of Central Finland, Jyvaskyla, Finland). Scand J Soc hied 1987, 3 (145-151). On the basis of information gathered from a questionnaire study of 6 875 people aged from 7 to 46 years and living in Central Finland, it was seen that the wearing of spectacles has much increased during the last five decades. It is calculated that the wearing of spectacles is still on the increae in the population. hlore females than males wore spectacles in all the age groups studied. The higher the education the more common was the wearing of spectacles. Poor distant vision w a s the main reason for the wearing of spectacles, up to the presbyopic age. At the presbyopic age, education, accurate close work, and poor distant vision were connected with the wearing of spectacles. The father's occupation seems to have little or no effect on the wearing of spectacles nowadays.
Early Prints Depicting Eyeglasses
Archives of Ophthalmology, 2002
uch of the history of eyeglasses has been gleaned from studies of paintings and prints that illustrate them. A few prints from the first century of printing include spectacles and are reproduced in this article. In addition to showing their form and method of use, these prints also illustrate their symbolic value.
The History of early promulgation of eyeglasses in Persia
2018
Background & Aims: From ancient time the human being was familiar with refraction of light through the crystals. One of the earliest finished natural crystals as a lens belongs to 3000 years ago named as Nimrud lens. The purpose of this research was to find when the use of eyeglass was promulgated in Persia Methods: To answer the question, we looked for the first use of the “eyeglass” or its synonyms in the Farsi literature and Persian ancient artistic paintings. Results: Jami was the first the Persian poet that used a synonym of eyeglass in his poems. The frequency of its use in Farsi poems has been increased from 16 century onward. We also found two Persian paintings demonstrating the use of eyeglasses in the Safavid period. Conclusion: Eyeglass was introduced from Europe to Persia. The use of the eyeglasses in Persia was promulgated in the 15th century and early Safavid period onward.
Treating with Spectacle Lenses: A Novel Idea!?
Optometry and Vision Science, 2002
A design approach to low-vision device development-vision multiplexing-was introduced recently. This approach has been applied successfully to the design of novel electronic and optical low-vision aids. This paper discusses the application of the vision-multiplexing concept to spectacle lens design to address issues of low vision and to resolve problems of color discrimination and glare in driving. Because spectacles are considered a fashion accessory as much as they are a vision aid, cosmetic considerations are critical to the design of such aids. Spectacle-borne devices that are not concealed or attractive are unlikely to be used widely. Efforts to combine the functionality of vision multiplexing with improved appearance are illustrated.
The spectacle of vision: eye and eyesight in the nineteenth-century scientific press
Early Popular Visual Culture, 2022
This article analyses how nineteenth-century medical science apprehended the eye and its functions. It disputes Jonathan Crary’s claim of the alleged mistrust towards human vision as a source of reliable information from the 1830s onwards. It is based on the analysis of scholarly and popular scientific publications from the early 1850s to the first decades of the twentieth century, a typology of sources overlooked by Crary as well as by most of the works in the field of Visual Studies. It focuses on French documents because of the progress undertaken by medical research on the eyesight in the country at the time and the number and scope of both scientific and popular publications. In the first part, I analyse the new set of knowledge about the anatomy and physiology of the eye that physicians developed at the time – notably through the use of newly introduced instruments such as the ophthalmoscope and the ophthalmometer. In the second part, I describe how contemporary medical research led to the acknowledgment of the subjectivity of visual perceptions and the fragile nature of human visual capacities. In the last section, I show how, through a process of classification and rationalisation of the newly acquired knowledge, physicians managed to reinstate the objective character of visual perceptions on the basis of their research.
Obscurity surrounds not only the date and name of the inventor of eyeglasses, but also the date and place where eyeglasses (or information pertaining to them) reached the Muslim world. It is assumed that eyeglasses were transmitted to the Muslim world through commerce with Italian traders, which is probable, while other options also present themselves. This paper shows, at any rate, that the date traditionally given for the first acquaintance of the Muslim world with eyeglasses is wrong. In this article, we present evidence that eyeglasses were available in Syria since the fourteenth century and discuss the implications of this discovery.
1988
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British Journal of Ophthalmology, 2001
Aims-To assess the feasibility of providing a stock of ready made spectacles for correction of refractive error in the general population. Methods-Data were collected in the Visual Impairment Project, a population based survey of Victorian residents aged 40 years or older in randomly selected urban and rural sample areas. This included a refractive eye examination and the proportion of subjects with hypermetropia, emmetropia (defined as −1.0 to +1.0D spherical equivalent), and myopia documented in the 40-60 year age group. Results-2595 (54.8%) participants were aged between 40 and 60 years. Those with a best corrected visual acuity of less than 6/12, astigmatism of more than 1.25D, and anisometropia of more than 0.5D were excluded. 516 participants had refractive error which was deemed suitable for correction by "oV the shelf " spectacles. This represents 19.9% of all participants between 40 and 60 years of age. Provision of spectacles in 0.5D increments would provide suitable stock spectacles for 85.5% of a −3.0 to +3.0D range or 89.2% of a −3.50 to +3.50D range. Conclusions-Ready made "oV the shelf " spectacles could significantly alleviate visual morbidity due to refractive error in up to 20% of an urban population in Australia. This approach may also be useful in developing countries with poor access to optometric services.