‘For reference sources, Fashions in Eyeglasses is still the definitive work.’– Financial Times

Fashions In Eyeglasses is the most comprehensive history of eyewear ever to be published in English, now reissued in an enlarged and updated edition.

With over 100 period prints and 500 drawings illustrating the manufacture and development of eyewear, Fashions In Eyeglasses is the definitive resource for anyone who works in fashion or theatre, as well as being a fascinating journey through time for the historian and general reader alike. Beginning with the Italian cardinal who riveted two magnifying lenses together, Corson moves through time to include spyglasses, opera glasses, monocles, Morrissey's N.H.S. specs, Sven's Armanis, and much, much more …

This edition has been updated by fashion historian Caroline Cox, one of the world's leading authorities on the subject.

‘The best modern book on the history of spectacles.’– The Times

‘A comprehensive reference for theatrical costumiers, makeup artists and actors.’– Sunday Times

‘A valuable contribution to social, medical and intellectual history, soberly but not heavily written.’– Daily Telegraph

‘Well written and backed with technical information … informative and entertaining reading.’– Vogue

‘A delightful book to browse through or to read as a serious summary of history.’– The Optician

‘One must be grateful for the publication of a book which should put an end to the terrible gaffes perpetrated by producers who time out of mind have equipped Shakespeare's characters with a handsome pair of wig spectacles some 200 years too early.’– The Ophthalmic Optician

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RICHARD CORSON taught theatrical makeup in colleges and universities throughout the United States and worked as a theatrical makeup consultant. His book Stage Makeup has become the standard text on the subject, while his three valuable social histories, Fashions in Makeup, Fashions in Hair and Fashions in Eyeglasses, all published by Peter Owen Publishers, are renowned as classics in their field.