Through The Looking Glasses

The Spectacular Life of Spectacles

Travis Elborough

$24.99

Paperback

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English

Abacus
27 June 2023

History of fashion; Fashion & society

'Elegant and multi-focal. Glorious!' Simon Garfield

'It will make you look at specs with fresh eyes' New Statesman

'Lively, engaging and admirably wide-ranging' The Times

'Fascinating' Observer

The humble pair of glasses might just be one of the world's greatest inventions, allowing millions to see a world that might otherwise appear a blur. And yet how much do many of us really think about these things perched on the ends of our noses?

Through the Looking Glasses traces the fascinating story of spectacles: from their inception as primitive visual aids for monkish scribes right through to today's designer eyewear and the augmented reality of Google Glass. There are encounters with ingenious medieval Italian glassmakers, myopic Renaissance rulers and spectacle-makers, as well as the silent movie star Harold Lloyd, the rock'n'roller Buddy Holly and the full-screen figure of Marilyn Monroe. This is a book about vision and the need for humanity to see clearly, and where the impulse to improve our eyesight has led us.

By: Travis Elborough
Imprint: Abacus
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 126mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 280g
ISBN: 9780349144115
ISBN 10: 0349144117
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 27 June 2023
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acclaimed by the Guardian as 'one of the country's finest pop culture historians', Travis Elborough has been a freelance writer, author, broadcaster and cultural commentator for nearly two decades. Elborough's books include Wish You Were Here: England on Sea, The Long-Player Goodbye, a hymn to vinyl records that inspired the BBC4 documentary When Albums Ruled the World, in which he also appeared, and A Walk in the Park, a loving exploration of public parks and green space. Elborough regularly appears on Radio 4 and recently wrote and presented the five-part series, The Rise and Fall of the Antique, and is a frequent contributor to the Guardian and Observer, among other newspapers and magazines.

Reviews for Through The Looking Glasses: The Spectacular Life of Spectacles

Elegantly framed and multi-focal, this is a gloriously panoptical survey. As a history of restored sight it is instructive, and as a narrative of facial furniture it is fascinating -- Simon Garfield 'Exuberant...glasses changed the world Sunday Times This is a thorough, entertaining and thoroughly entertaining history of life through a lens. -- David Quantick Fascinating Rachel Cooke, Observer A bit early for Christmas, but I'd buy a copy now and wrap it up ...lively, engaging, admirably wide-ranging Times There are four billion adults around the globe who wear glasses. It will make you look at specs with fresh eyes New Statesman