A History of Sunglasses
A History of Sunglasses
Learn a Little Bit About Your Shades!
The earliest recorded eye protection against the harmful nature of bright sunlight was discovered in archeological excavations of Inuit artifacts. The Inuit carved walrus ivory into an eye covering that only allowed the wearer to see through small horizontal slits at the center of each eye-piece. These early sunglasses did not utilize any form of lens but they did offer protection from continued harmful exposure to the sun's rays. A truer ancestor of the modern sunglasses was created in the 1750s by James Ayscough's experiments with colored lenses. Though Ayscough's work targeted the correction of eye maladies and not the harmful effects of the sun, he was the first to create optics that protected the wearer’s eyes for reasons other than simple disguise.
Legend has it that early silent film stars of the 1900s began wearing tinted glasses to shield their eyes from the brightness of film studio lights. This trend was not well documented, but it did inspire Sam Foster to begin manufacturing sunglasses for movie stars in 1919 under the brand name Foster Grant, which originally produced ladies' hair accessories. In 1929, Foster expanded his sunglasses distribution by additionally selling them at the Woolworth Atlantic City Boardwalk store in New Jersey. Instantly, beachgoers adopted the new product and habit of using sunglasses. By the 1930s, the American trend of wearing sunglasses had grown large enough to inspire the research and development teams from related optical industries to begin pursuing related advancements in glass tinting and shielding for sun protection.
Bausch & Lomb was originally an optic development firm specializing in glass refining for microscopes, binoculars and cameras. At the onset of World War II, the United States Army Air Corp commissioned the Bausch & Lomb firm to develop a form of sunglasses that could be worn by pilots to help protect against the effects of prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. This industry shift from casual fashion to technical eye protection represented a significant modern advancement in the evolution of sunglasses. Bausch & Lomb responded to the Army's request with the creation of the famed Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses. In 1936, Edwin H. Land furthered the development of sunglasses with the introduction of his patented Polaroid filter to the lenses of sunglasses. The combination of Bausch & Lomb's success at establishing a fashionable trend with their Ray Ban Aviators and Land's advancement in glare reducing optics launched sunglasses on a path of popularity that is still widely represented by today's sunglasses industry.
Movie stars and pilots continued to create a market niche, but the industry boon did not occur until the Foster Grant ad campaign of the 1960s. "Who is behind those Foster Grants?" was the first direct ad campaign to target the general public by toting the stylish nature of sunglasses through the direct endorsement of celebrities. Foster Grant and Bausch & Lomb held the market on sunglasses, but the success of that 1960s ad campaign caused the emergence of a new market contender: the designer sunglasses manufacturer.
