Cockney Rebel Runnin Wild : Here Comes the Sun (glasses)

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

Cockney Rebel/Banana Rebel

From the Bottom to the Tops!

The Four Tops, 1967

Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln : Diaspora Drum Solo 1964

 

From the We Insist! Freedom Now Suite (1964)

Eyewear Parade by Sammy Davis Jr.

See the Vanity Fair highlights from the work of Sammy Davis Jr. as photographer

Sammy Davis Jr. was the first African-American cover for GQ in 1967.

Peter O'Toole photographed by Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1965

Sammy Davis Jr. and Martin Luther King Jr.

Bill Cosby and Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. reading the Talmud

Sammy Davis, Jr. photographed by Raul Vega

Two versions of the popular Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. duet, "Me & My Shadow":

Stereograph 1942

Southern California teen sighting a navigation transit in 1942

Courtesy of Stereophotography

Lee Miller by Man Ray

Lee Miller, Paris, 1929 by Man Ray

Hands painted by Picasso, photographed by Man Ray, 1929.

Anxious Eyes to Greater Vision : The Bausch & Lomb Optical Educational Films of 1944

HDV Likes : Bill Mount's Opera Glasses

HDV patron Bill Mount wearing Francois Pinton at the Beijing Opera

Eskimo Fashion Party

Eskimo Suntimer by Victory

Let us give credit where credit is due... Inuits invented sunglasses. The Eskimo hunter designed these ancestral wearables for survival in the harsh arctic climate.  The high latitude of their habitats left the sun low on the horizon through much of the year, and the resulting glare was compounded by the highly reflective snow or water that covered the area.

 

Without protection, a hunters eyes were left vulnerable to a painful and often serious condition known as snow blindness, similar to a sunburn. Ivory or wood snow goggles alleviated this effect by allowing the wearer to peer through narrow openings, while shading him from the excessive glare.

Throughout history, Eskimo cultures have believed that all things in the physical world are imbued with a living spirit, or inua. In order to gain favor with the inua of his prey, a hunter would observe numerous taboos, and strive to use only the most beautiful, finely prepared hunting gear.

In this carved ivory pair of snow goggles by the Punuk Eskimos of Alaska, an ingenious utilitarian object is elevated to the level of a work of fine art.  This piece captures two major forces in the Punuk Eskimo conception of the world. It is both a spiritual and a technical tour-de-force, executed in honor of the animals that offered their lives and allowed for the continued survival of the Eskimo people.  

Text Courtesy of Christie's.

The Bard of Bordeaux

Afternoon in Exeter, 1963.  Courtesy of ga2114

This Magic Moment : Lou Reed by Dustin Pittman

Lou Reed in NYC (1970) photographed by Dustin Pittman

Berlin Brats

Boys of East Berlin, 1966.

The Soul Never Thinks Without A Picture

Ashtabula Rasa

Illustration by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. for Breakfast of Champions (1973) 

The Francophone Guide to Vintage Eyewear

Sous toutes les coutures - T'as d'beaux yeux tu sais...

Hybrid Individuals : Prints by Yuji Hiratsuka

Radiorama

That's How We Live in My Genre: Cazal Back in the Days

Photographs by Jamel Shabazz

Chromatherapy : Patrick Nagatani

Marcus - Instant Cultural Vision - Chromatic Optometry Los Angeles, California by Patrick Nagatani, 1978.

Crystal Clear

Hands and Glasses by Phillip Galgiani, 1982.

Dream Invaders

Vintage Eighties Alain Mikli

Back to the Gypsy That I Was

Gypsy Camp, Barcelona, Spain by Mary Ellen Mark (1987)