Earlier this yearI had the incredible opportunity to visit the British Optical Association Museum in London. As a passionate collector of vintage eyewear, this visit was rather exciting for me. I am the person who goes on holiday and gets excited at the sight of an Optical store, but hey it shows i'm passionate about what I do - right?
The guided 1-1 tour was led by Neil Handley the museum curator who has been there for over 25 years and as you'd expect is incredibly knowledgeable.
The museum was founded in 1901 and is the oldest optometry museum in the world. The historic collection covers optometry, the eye and visual health and has over 28,000 items, including historic vision aids, spectacle frames, lenses and sight test equipment.
Naturally the thing I found most exciting was the spectacles and sunglasses collection, which houses over 3000 frames. It was fabulous to see items there that I have collected myself. There was such an array of frames to look at, I felt like a kid in a sweet shop.
The very first pair of vintage spectacles I ever owned were picked up at a local Vintage charity shop by Wakefield Hospice. It was a small black cat eye lorgnette (spectacles with a handle, to be held in front of the eyes, rather than worn on the head). These were purchased long before Retro Spectacle was created, from just my love of eyewear.
Did you know that the first glasses were invented in Northern Italy in the 13th century? They had no sides, and were therefore clamped onto your nose. You would need to stay very still to balance them on the nose, often using one hand to keep them in position. Oh how times have changed. Nowadays, not only are spectacles functional but also incredibly fashionable, many wear them who don't need them for visual correction, but just to make a style statement.
One artefact that was non-frame related that I found was this fabulous vintage Guide Dogs for the Blind collection box. It dates back to the 1950's and the lady is wearing dark spectacles with an Alsatian dog (aka German Shepherd) on a metal harness. Guide Dogs for the Blind was formally founded in 1934 and continues to do fantastic work to this day.
The cabinet above features glasses and sunglasses that have been used in film and television. Costume designers and stylists shape characters through clothes and accessories. Eyewear plays an important role, it can disguise a person, suggest intelligence, add mystery or even vulnerability. It also can effect how light and emotion are captured on film. We have worked with many stylists and costume designers for film & television, including blockbuster movies. Our unique collection, which is quite large, allows us to find the products to match the desired style. We also have many products in multiples, which is often a request made by the costume department.
Credit: Retro Spectacle
The above montage shows a few more shots I took on my visit. The frames at the bottom right corner are from Anglo American Eyewear, and were manufactured here in the UK. I am lucky enough to have both of those frames in my own personal collection as well as some other fabulous and unique designs by the brand, including a bicycle shaped pair and the statue of liberty shaped sunglasses.
Visiting the British Optical Association Museum was a real reminder of how far human curiosity and innovation can take us. Each display told a story of progress and dedication to vision. If you ever find yourself nearby, I would highly recommended organising a guided tour.