I like reading niche history books, so this one was interesting, if not as ‘spectacular’ as it promised to be. No one knows who invented spectacles, but it seems to have come from medieval Italy due to refinements in glassmaking. Remarkably it was a long time before anyone thought of adding sides to glasses that hooked over the ears!

This book is divided into two parts. The first part is the history of spectacles, up until the world wars. The focus is on the industries and processes which allowed the technology to improve, and society’s views on people who wore glasses. You will not be surprised to hear that women wearing glasses was frowned upon, even by doctors. The second part of the book is more of a cultural history, focusing on representations in the movies in particular and the history of designer frames. This part started off very interesting to me, but it became a little tiresome because there was so much discussion of film. I’m not at all fussed about designers either, although as a part-time glasses wearer I often go for designer frames if they suit me better. I felt that although the subject is very worthy of a history book, the focus of it was not quite what I wanted. There is praise from Simon Garfield on the front cover, and indeed it’s the kind of book he would write, with its niche history topic and irreverent, rambling style. There are some photographs of famous spectacles-wearers, including Harold Lloyd, Buddy Holly, Dizzy Gillespie, Michael Caine, Gloria Steinem, Jarvis Cocker, Keith Haring, and John Lennon (the nude photo of him and Yoko). It was a good read, considering I bought it from the discount trolley at Waterstones!

Published by Abacus, 2023.