An amazing advertisement from Persol at the turn of the 20th century. The name PERSOL derived from "per il sole," which, in Italian, means "for the sun." Here we see a play the word "parasol" which has phonetic similarities to Persol, both offering protection from the sun.Persol began in 1917 in the Italian city of Turin by Giuseppe Ratti, owner of Berry Opticians. Ratti designed in such a way as to meet the comfort and safety requirements of aviators and pilots, as well as ideal vision standards. Persol was not introduced to the United States until 1962.
Turin is also the birthplace of the Shroud of Turin, a controversial ancient linen cloth bearing the likeness of Jesus. The Shroud achieved its notoreity in 1898, pre-dating the creation of Persol by only twenty years.
