Spotlight on ... Spectacles!

A while back I decided to branch off from just telling the stories of my direct ancestors and use some of my posts to cover other things of interest.  The main motivation for this was my desire to share some of the wonderful photos I've found of my extended family (not too many degrees of separation from my direct ancestors).  These photos deserve to be in the Spotlight, so I put together collections of photos that share a common thread.  This week it's spectacles!

My very rudimentary research into the origins of modern spectacles / glasses indicates that it's likely they were first worn in 13th century Italy.  Later on, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the demands of industrialisation during the Industrial Age, accelerated the process of making spectacles.  The glasses we see and wear today really only emerged at the beginning of the 18th century and were typically used for vision correction.  

One of the oldest photos in my family tree collection showing a person wearing spectacles, is this one:

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by pchurch1965

Sarah Ann Stevens was the wife of my paternal 1st cousin 5x removed, Samuel Fullagar.  Born in 1813 in Kent, England, Sarah Ann emigrated with her husband and two children to the U.S.A. in 1841.

It's likely this photo was possibly taken around the late 1860s.  Sarah is wearing what look like a pair of thin-rimmed silver spectacles with a saddle bridge and oval glass lenses.  This particular design of spectacles were widely worn through the mid 19th century.  The saddle bridge sat directly on the nose and was responsible for the placement of glasses on the face.  Saddle bridges meant that, in order to be wearable, glasses needed small lenses and they resulted in glasses being worn very close to the face and eyes.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by Bronte Hutchinson

Ellen McCarthy, the wife of my paternal 2nd great-granduncle Michael Hickey, was born in 1842 in County Donegal in Ireland. She emigrated with her parents and six siblings to Australia in 1854, and then married Michael Hickey in New South Wales in 1862.  She died at the age of 84 in Australia in 1926.

This photo was most likely taken sometime in the late 1880s.  Mary is wearing the same sort of spectacles as Sarah Ann (above), with oval-shaped lenses.  Very often spectacles were handed down and used by several generations after the original owner, and I have often wondered if these particular spectacles are still in the hands of an Aussie descendant. 

Photo taken from the Northern Star newspaper, dated 1932

Eleanor Jones, my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed, was born in New South Wales, Australia, in 1863.  She married Joseph Atkin when she was 19 years old and the photo above was taken on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary in 1932.  Eleanor was 88 years old and is wearing the same style of spectacles that Ellen (above) was wearing over half a century before.  It seems the style was indeed popular around the world for many, many years.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by Bernard Muldoon

Annie Francis Bridget Cusack, my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed, and wife of James Venn pictured further on in this post, is photographed wearing thin-framed spectacles with round lenses and the middle bridge.  Annie was born in New South Wales, Australia, in 1883 and married James Venn when she was 20 years old in 1904.  This photo was likely taken in the late 1920s when Annie was in her 40s.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by Chris Fredericks

Eliza Jones, my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed, was born in New South Wales, Australia, in 1849.  She was the older sister of Eleanor, pictured above, and in the photo (probably taken in the late 1920s) she is wearing a more fashionable style of rimless glasses.  

Eliza's pair of spectacles has the bridge moved to the top of the lenses and there are nose pads.  Nose pads were not invented until the 1920s, and they radically changed the fit and comfort of spectacles.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by Sheena Venn

James Venn, the husband of my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed, Annie Cusack, is wearing a similar pair of spectacles to Eliza, with the top bridge and nose pads, although the lenses are very round.  This photo was taken around 1935.

Photo sourced from U.S. School Yearbooks 1900-99 on Ancestry.com

June Colleene Keichel, the wife of my maternal 2nd cousin once removed, Joseph Daniel O'Donnell, was born in 1922 in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.  She married Joseph O'Donnell in 1944 when she was 22.  They went on to have two children and June lived quite a long life, passing away in 2004, aged 82.

This photo was taken when June was 17 years old.  She was attending Catasauqua High School.  It was 1940, but she was wearing 1930s style glasses - rimless eyeglass frames with a top bridge and nose pads.

The rimless silver glasses were starting to disappear towards the end of the 1920s into the 1930s.  They were not very sturdy and broke quite easily. The trend then became shell frame spectacles, with the frames either made of real tortoiseshells or durable plastic.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by kirreia

Mary Ellen Connors, my paternal grandaunt, was born in New South Wales, Australia, in 1874.  After she had married at the age of 29 and went on to have four children with husband John George Bates, they moved to Queensland just before the outbreak of WW1, where Mary gave birth to two more children.  She died at the age of 72 in 1947, living long enough to see another world war break out.

The photo above was likely taken in the early 1940s when Mary Ellen was in her late 60s.  This particular set of spectacles has quite large round rimmed lenses, and once again the top bridge with nose pads, and the frame appears to be a shell frame.  It's possibly a plastic tortoiseshell-patterned frame that would have been quite lightweight, but had a heavier look because of the thicker frame.  This was a new design trend for glasses.

Photo shared by Christine Ellis on Ancestry.com

Lilian Elizabeth Fordham, the wife of my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed, Reginald Smith, is wearing a very similar style of glasses in this photo.  Lilian was born in New South Wales, Australia in 1905 and married Reginald in 1931 when she was 26 years old.  She lived until her 60th year.  This photo was taken sometime in the late 1940s, when Lilian was in her 40s.  Sadly she passed away when she was only 48 years old.

Other wearers of the round shell framed glasses include - 

Photo shared by Michael Linney on Ancestry.com

Andrew Charles Thomas, my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed;

Photo shared by Alan Menere on Ancestry.com

and Arthur Sydney Goddard, the husband of the stepdaughter of my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed, Sarah Anne Exton.

Harlequin Frames advertisement published
in the May 1943 issue of Glamour magazine.

By the 1940s, spectacle styles were evolving.  They were no longer just for utilitarian purposes, but were becoming synonymous with glamour!   One of the first interesting designs became known as the "cat eye" frame.  

It was originally called the "harlequin" frame and was the patented design of Altina Schinasi.  She designed her first prototypes in the late 1930s, and her original shape designs were replicas from whimsical harlequin masks that were worn to ballroom dances at that time.  

Altina began a move away from uninteresting frames to something a little more eye-catching!  When movie stars began wearing these glasses, it added that touch of glam to the look.

Photo shared by Malcom Harris on Ancestry.com

Joan Aileen Ellen Tyler, my paternal 1st cousin once removed, was wearing an oversized variant of the harlequin glasses in this photo, probably taken around 1945.  Joan was born in New South Wales, Australia, in 1924; married Eric John McDermid in 1950 and moved not long after that to Queensland to raise her family.  Sadly she passed away at the young age of 44 in 1968.

Photo shared by Janelle Ivers on Ancestry.com

Elsie Louisa Fackerell (seen on the right), the wife of my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed, Robert Bustard / Bostock, is also wearing glasses with the harlequin frame in this photo.  She is standing alongside her younger sister Ethel Francis Fackerell, who is wearing the old-fashioned shell frames.  This photo was likely taken in the late 1950s when the sisters were both in their 60s.

Other wearers of the harlequin / cats eyes frames include:

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by judefricano

Two of the Mooney clan including my maternal 2nd cousin once removed, Katherine Mooney nee Mahoney, and her sister-in-law who are both wearing spectacles with cats eye frames.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by cruising2010

Ethel May Anderson, wife of my paternal 3rd cousin 2x removed, Joseph John Hutton.  This photo was taken in the mid 1950s, around the time of her husband's passing, and Ethel would have been in her mid 60s.

One of the easily recognised type of glasses worn mostly by men in the 1940s and 1950s were the 'browline' horn-rimmed glasses.  Prominent plastic "brows" were fitted over the tops of metal frames, creating quite a distinctive look and glasses that were much sturdier than those with solid plastic frames.  "Browlines" became hugely popular post-World War 11 with men and made up half of all glasses sales throughout the 1950s.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by omeb1

Keith Collins, the husband of my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed, Elizabeth Ann Thomas, wearing a set of "browlines" sometime in the early 1970s.  Keith was born in New South Wales in 1897 and married Elizabeth when he was 23 years old in 1920.  He lived a long life, passing away in 1979.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by jvdwh

James Warren McKenna, the husband of my maternal 2nd cousin once removed, Mary (Mae) O'Donnell.  James was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1908.  He married Mary when he was 23 in mid 1931.  James passed away in 1965 at the age of 57.  This photo would have been taken in the early 1960s.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by Robert Dooley

Robert James Dooley, my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed, was born in New South Wales in 1896.  He lived a long life, passing away in 1974 at the age of 78.  This photo would have been taken in the late 1960s around the time of Robert's 70th birthday.

The remaining photographs of family tree members wearing glasses were taken between mid 1960 and 2010.  Interestingly, all are wearing quite plain framed glasses with oversized lenses.  Perhaps the reason for this could be the fact that they are all pensioners and their choices were limited by a reduced budget.  There are no fancy looking glasses on these ladies. 

Photo shared by Helen Pillidge on Ancestry.com

Francis Amelia Kerr, wife of my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed, Thomas Joseph Hickey.  Photo taken around 1963 when Francis was 66 years old.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by Mise2a

Eliza Jane Hukins, my paternal 1st cousin 2x removed, born in 1892 in New South Wales, Australia.  She married Charles Guthrey in 1915 when she was 23 years old.  They went on to have three children, although their middle child died when she was a baby.  Eliza lived until her 91st birthday.  This photo was taken on the occasion of her 91st birthday in April 1983.  Eliza died about two months later.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by Robert Waddell

Constance Jean Reid, my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed, was born in 1912 in Queensland, Australia.  She lived until her 76th year, passing away in 1989.  This photo was taken the year before her death.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by jillymac1

Sisters, Heather Mavis McCann and Ethel Vera McCann, the nieces of the husband of my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed, Alma Florence Barrow.  The photo was taken in the late 1990s.

Photo shared on Ancestry.com by Mise2a

May Guthrey, my paternal 2nd cousin once removed, born in 1916 in New South Wales, Australia.  May was the eldest daughter of Eliza Jane Guthrey nee Hukins, pictured previously in this post. May died in 2010 at the age of 94.  This photo was taken the year before her death.