Turtlenecks and Sunshine | Black Panthers in L.A.

Black Panther leader, Eldridge Cleaver and Jack Weinberg holding press conference in Los Angeles, California, 1968. See the Black Panthers Exhibit on view at CAAM in LA.

Soda Jerk School | 1951

Soda jerk costume, but make it fashion. For National Ice Cream Month, get the scoop on the history of the Smithsonian’s ice cream parlor at ​​National Museum of American History

Inside You the Time Moves | River Phoenix and Martha Plimpton

Lets P3 Together...Click Here

Boyfriend and girlfriend, actors River Phoenix and Martha Plimpton at a Rock Against Fur concert at the Palladium, New York.

 A LITTLE HISTORY

The P3: a wonderfully round design for eyeglasses, which originated in wire for military use and released in the early 1930s. After WWII, the shape was reimagined in acetate. Why the military background? The design is quite practical, in that the round shape fits many different lens prescriptions and–bonus!–they were designed to fit well under gas masks. Images of soldiers wearing the P3 shape are frequent from that time. As with many things which began in the armed theatre, the public soon adopted the look, with soldiers returning home to their hero’s welcome.

White Lines | The More I See, The More I Do

Photograph by Francesco Scavullo

If I Die, Bury Me Deep | ROTC Military Ball, 1945

Southwest HS ROTC cadet Jerry Henry dancing with Corinne Keegan at their military ball. Kansas City, MO, 1945.

If I die in a combat zone
Box me up and ship me home
Pin my metals upon my chest
Bury me in the leaning rest

My Blue Heaven | Sinatra at the Dodgers Game

Frank Sinatra at the Dodgers Game, 1978.

Mic(rophone) Checka | The Steve Allen Show, 1953

I used to be a heavy gambler. But now I just make mental bets. That's how I lost my mind. -Steve Allen

He Wears It Well | Jerry Lewis in Rounded Bifocal

People hate me because I am a multifaceted, talented, wealthy, internationally famous genius. -Jerry Lewis

Coin-Op and Cocktails | Jack Benny at L.A. Laundry Party

Mrs. Sammy Cahn (L), comedian George Jessel (C) and comedian Jack Benny (R) at a star-studded opening of a new coin-operated dry cleaners in Los Angeles, California. HDV pays the greatest respect to this party; a beautiful blend of cocktails, burlesque, live music, and washing machines.

One More Cup of Coffee Before I Go | Milton Berle

Comedian Milton Berle and wife Lorna, both drinking coffee.

Laughter is an instant vacation.
-Milton Berle

"I am not a myth" | Marlene Dietrich, 1938

Actress Marlene Dietrich eating at the Paramount commissary, wearing sunglasses. Photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt.

Say "nuh-BOE-kof" | Vladimir Nabokov, 1958

Novelist Vladimir Nabokov looking out of car window. He likes to work in the car, writing on index cards. Nabokov never learned how to drive, his wife Vera acted as his chauffeur.

Lolita is famous, not I. I am an obscure, doubly obscure, novelist with an unpronounceable name.
-Vladimir Nabokov, Paris Review, Oct. 1967

In His Solitude | Gordon Parks, 1979

Photographer and film maker Gordon Parks, California, 1979. was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. He was the first African American to work at Life magazine, and the first to write, direct, and score a Hollywood film. He is best remembered for his photo essays and as the director of the 1971 film Shaft. Parks' son, Gordon Parks, Jr. (1934-1979), directed blaxploitation films, including Super Fly.

A 1948 photo essay on a young Harlem gang leader won Parks a staff job as a photographer and writer with Life magazine. For 20 years, Parks produced photos on subjects including fashion, sports, Broadway, poverty, racial segregation, and portraits of Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Muhammad Ali, and Barbra Streisand. For an introduction to his photography, click here.

Many times I wondered whether my achievement was worth the loneliness I experienced, but now I realize the price was small. -Gordon Parks

Glamour Girl | Vintage Eyewear, 1945

More Geeks | CalTech Outta Control, 1972

Dr. Harry B. Gray, professor of chemistry at Caltech and a nationally recognized scientist and teacher, spices lectures with occasional appearance in horse costume. HDV counts 6 pairs of vintage glasses here, plus an astonishing pair of high heeled sneakers featured at bottom center of this pic.

Fabulous Eyewear of Watergate | Last Reflections, 1973

CBS News correspondent Lesley Stahl at press table during Watergate hearings. A graduate of Wheaton College, her career received a running start from her coverage of the Watergate affair. In October 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, stood up and walked away from an interview with Stahl, because she insisted on asking him about his relationship with his soon-to-be estranged spouse.

Nixon aide John Dean and wife Maureen sit quietly during lull in Watergate hearings. Dean was White House Counsel to U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. He became deeply involved in events leading up to the Watergate burglaries and the subsequent Watergate scandal cover up, even referred to as "master manipulator of the cover up" by the FBI. He was convicted of multiple felonies as a result of Watergate, and went on to become a key witness for the prosecution, resulting in a reduction of his time in prison.

Sen. Sam Ervin chewing on pen during session of the Senate committee conducting hearings into the Watergate break-in & dubious conduct of the Nixon administration. Ervin is considered a liberal hero for his support of civil liberties, he is remembered for his work in the investigation committees that brought down McCarthy in 1954 and Nixon in 1974.

Unidentified member of press corps listening to testimony during Watergate hearings. If you can identify this frame, HDV will give you a discount on your next pair of prescription lenses.

Recording stenographer at work as news photographer shoots in the background. For the Watergate Trial Records archive click here.

Fabulous Eyewear of Watergate | Journalists and Typewriters, 1973

CBS News correspondent Daniel Schorr working at press table (pipe in mouth) during Watergate hearings. Veteran reporter Daniel Schorr, the last of Edward R. Murrow's legendary CBS team still fully active in journalism, currently interprets national and international events as senior news analyst for NPR.

WASHINGTON STAR reporter Mary McGrory (L) working with CBS News Correspondent Lesley Stahl (R) & unidentified others during Watergate hearings. She was hired in 1947 by The Washington Star and began her career as a journalist, a path she was inspired to take by reading Jane Arden comic strips. She rose to prominence as their reporter covering the McCarthy hearings in 1954.

McGrory won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1975, for her articles about the Watergate scandal. She was a fierce opponent of the Vietnam War and was on Richard Nixon's enemies list for writing "daily hate Nixon articles." Note the man seated at her press table may be wearing first generation Transition lenses.

WASHINGTON STAR reporter Mary McGrory (R) consulting notes as unidentified man works nearby during Watergare hearings. She died in Washington, D.C. at the age of 85.

Nearly deserted press room with table lined with typewriters at the end of the day. For much of the 20th century, typewriters were indispensable tools for many professional writers and in business offices. Mechanical desktop typewriters were long time standards of government agencies, newsrooms, and sales offices.

Fabulous Eyewear of Watergate | Counsel with Pipe, 1973

Chief Counsel to the Select Comm. Samuel Dash (pictured on the left with brown fade to clear opthalmic frames) & Dep. Chief Counsel Rufus Edmisten (pictured on the right with pipe in hand) consulting with and unidentified man during Watergate hearings.

Mr. Dash became famous for his televised interrogations during the Congressional hearings on Watergate. Shortly before his death, he published The Intruders: Unreasonable Searches and Seizures from King John to John Ashcroft, which discusses the risks to freedom in modern society, particularly in the wake of the Patriot Act. Professor Dash died in Washington, D.C. of congestive heart failure, aged 79, on the same day as Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal.

Rufus Edmisten (pictured center in the above photograph) was given the honor of serving the subpoena to the White House for the Watergate tapes. Here he is seen sharing a light moment with a couple of jovial senators during the hearings. While Mr. Edmisten is not a prescribed eyeglass connoisseur, HDV does appreciate his confident demeanor when confronted with a peer wearing a nearly identical seersucker blazer. Edmisten now has a governmental law practice in Raleigh, where he lives with his wife Linda and his dog Nellie.

Fabulous Eyewear of Watergate | Courtroom Sketch Artists, 1973

Although photography was clearly allowed during the Watergate hearings, courtroom tradition demanded the presence of these focused and talented individuals to render the participants and jurors (who by law cannot be photographed) in pastels and colored pencil.

Typically hats are not permitted in a courtroom setting, but the courdoroy beret shown on the bearded gentleman at bottom right seemed to have slipped past security. It seems strangely well-suited to the fur-lined goggles he is wearing around his neck, and do note the presence of a very unusual bridge on his opthalmic frames.

For a great article on the Watergate courtroom sketches and to view the artwork, visit The Turkowitz Law Firm site or the online historical archive Watergate, On the Record courtesy of the University of Texas, Austin.

Fabulous Eyewear of Watergate | Herbert Porter, 1973

Ex-White House aide Herbert L. "Bart" Porter testifying at Watergate hearings. Washington, D.C. in June of 1973. Looking intense in his 18K gold aviator opthalmic frames, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the investigation, with the defense that he was under severe pressure to be a "team player". What frames are you wearing now, Herbert?

The Martian Chronicler: Ray Bradbury in 1975

Books spill from closets and shelves in the Cheviot Hills home of prolific science fiction author Ray Bradbury and his wife, Maggie.