Boys' Eye Glasses Chronology: 20th Century


Figure 1.--American children, both boys and girls, into the 1940s continued to wear the same plain wire-frame glasses.

We see more children wearing glasses in the 20th century as well as major changes in the styling of frames. The increasing importance of school and rising income levels sustaining improved health care were probably the major factors. Children's vision problems became much more apparent when they began school and started to read. And most parents in the 20th century could afford glassess. The development of national health programs took the economic factor out of the equation in many countries. Children's eye glasses continued to be very plain and gender neutral in the first half of the 20th century. Wire frame glasses were the most common style. This did not change until after World War II and the change came very quickly. By the 1950s we see both destinctive gender styles and amoce away from plain wire frame glasses. Beginning about the 1970s, contact lessons becm to become popular. We are not entirely surewhat age was seen as appropriate for contacts. Children breaking their glassess was a problem during much of the children. This problem was partially solved with the development of plastic lenses.







HBC





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Created: 11:32 PM 10/20/2008
Last updated: 11:32 PM 10/20/2008