In the Blink of an Eye: A Cultural History of Spectacles

From monocles to pince-nez and goggle-eyes, a cultural and technological history of glasses in fact and fiction.

This book examines those who wore glasses through history, art, and literature, from the green emerald through which Emperor Nero watched gladiator fights to Benjamin Franklin’s homemade bifocals, and from Marilyn Monroe’s cat-eye glasses to the famed four-eyes of Emma Bovary and Harry Potter. Spectacles are objects that seem commonplace, but In the Blink of an Eye shows that be...