(Leiden, 15 Nov. 2025) In this blog I take a look at some spectacles from the late 19th to mid-20th century. I myself, like many others, wear glasses on a daily basis, yet after looking at the wide variety of styles and types of glasses in the TRC collection (very much part of 'dress'), I realised how little I know of the development of this accessory over the centuries. So I want to take you along on my brief dive into the history of some types of glasses.

Fig. 1. Pair of spectacles, 1920s, The Netherlands (TRC 2022.3091b).

The invention and popularisation of glasses came about gradually, with the earliest known examples being attributed to different people, time periods and places. Some scholars credit the Romans with learning to use glass in such a way as to improve their eye-sight, through the use of small spherical magnifying glasses.

Fig. 2. Pince-nez, 1920s, The Netherlands (TRC 2022.3083b).Abbas Ibn Firnas, a 9th-century inventor from the Emirate of Córdoba in southern Spain, is believed to be the inventor of the first corrective lenses, in the form of so-called reading stones, which are roughly hemispherical lenses placed over a text. Jumping ahead, 13th-century Italian Renaissance paintings depict scholars with handheld frames or perch-style spectacles. They were accessible primarily for the wealthy, and were apparently a status symbol conveying intelligence and affluence.

Spectacle frames as we know them today with arms (officially known as temples) going around the sides of the head were not introduced until the early 1700s. In our collection, there are many ‘contemporary’ examples of this style of spectacles, including an elegant pair of 1920s glasses from The Netherlands (Fig. 1, TRC 2022.3091b) with delicate arms that extend over the ears.

Fig. 3. Pince-nez, mid-20th century, Western (TRC 2007.1082).Popular in 19th-century Europe were ‘pince-nez’ glasses, a French term literally meaning ‘pinch-nose’. They have a spring mechanism that allows them to rest on the nose without arms. The glasses were often connected to the wearer’s clothes with a chain or string attached to the metal loops on the (lower) side of the glasses. This feature can be seen in two examples of pince-nez glasses in the TRC collection (Fig. 2, TRC 2022.3083b and Fig. 3, TRC 2007.1082).

While spectacles with arms were also worn during this time, some wearers opted for pince-nez as a less prominent option that didn’t draw quite as much attention.

Also in our collection is an interesting pair of pince-nez referred to as ‘half-glasses’ (Fig. 4, TRC 2009.0004a) with half-moon lenses that could be replaced. 

Fig. 4. Pair of half-glasses, 20th century, The Netherlands (TRC 2009.0004a).The development of sunglasses or glasses to shield the eyes from harmful UV exposure is closely related to that of glasses meant to improve people's vision. Dating back 2000 years ago, the Inuit and Yupik of Alaska and Canada made and wore snow goggles, named ‘iggaak’. They were made from wood, ivory, or (antler) bone, and they were worn over the eyes with a narrow slit to see through, to shield the eyes from glare or UV radiation off of the snow.

Over the years, glasses meant to shield the eyes from glare developed in many different ways and regions, branching into the sunglasses we know today. In the TRC collection we have a beautiful example of Western sunglasses from the 1920s (Fig. 5, TRC 2022.3075), made both to be practical and stylish. 

Fig. 5. Pair of sun glasses with round, metal frames and spring temples. The Netherlands, 1920s (TRC 2022.3075).Also in our collection are double-hinged tinted glasses from 19th-century China (Fig. 6, TRC 2023.2141). About 900 years ago, Chinese people started using flat pieces of smoky quartz to aid vision. Then in the 15th century, these flat smoky quartz lenses were incorporated into spectacles to shield from glare and sunlight rather than being shaped to correct vision. Smoky quartz is a semi-precious crystal that is durable and naturally tinted. Whilst I am no expert on crystals, in comparing the spectacles in our collection to other examples I believe the lenses may be smoky quartz.

Also in our collection are a pair of glasses from 19th-century China with clear glasses, rather than tinted crystal. There is also a pair of lightly-tinted glasses with side screens from 20th century China, although apparently similar examples come from late 19th to early 20th century US and UK and are labelled as ‘driving’ or ‘safety’ glasses.

Also in the TRC collection is a beautiful pair of blue tinted glasses (Fig. 7, TRC 2007.1081) with metal arms made of two connected pieces that can slide and be folded flat. The glasses are believed to date back to the early 20th century.

Fig. 6. Pair of double-hinged spectacles, 19th century, China (TRC 2023.2141)

The use of coloured tinted glasses goes back much further, to the mid-18th century, when James Ayscough, an English designer and optician, introduced a series of spectacles with blue or green tinted lenses and double-hinged side pieces. The Englishman wrote that white glasses gave a bright glare that was ‘offensive’ to the eyes, and green or blue lenses were much easier on the eyes.

My research shows that in later years and into the early 20th century, green and blue tinted glasses were often prescribed to treat medical conditions, such as photophobia induced by syphilis.

Fig. 7. Spectacles with square, blue glasses and metal frame. Early 20th century, The Netherlands (TRC 2007.1081).

In a further dive into glasses I think it would be incredibly interesting to investigate more of their social and cultural history. Thanks in part to pop-culture, wearers of spectacles today are often perceived through the lens of certain clichés. Think for example of the teenage films where the nerdy girl becomes popular just by taking off her glasses. Or the businessman who is naturally understood to be intelligent thanks to his pair of glasses.

But how were glasses perceived in China in the 1920s, for example? Or how did people view them when they first started to become more common, as for instance in The Netherlands? How did art and media incorporate and portray them in their works? Spectacles clearly are an interesting accessory, which is both medically important to correct people's eye-sight, and a 'dress' item with a long history.