1920's Sunglasses from Hong Kong
Check out these beauties! The foldable temples are such an interesting design element; our shop actually has a Maui Jim pair that folds up as well. Of course, what I'm really here for is the bridge decoration. These sunglasses are currently in the Powerhouse Collection in Australia. The mueseum listing notes that glasses appear as early as the 1200s CE, possibly the 1070s CE, in China. Considering how important China remains today in the optical manufacturing industry, this is really important to remember! Made in China is not an indicator of quality, the way some xenophobic Westerners choose to believe. It's a historically imporant space for the industry, and continues to have the bulk of the specialized equipment we need to make frames.
We originally found these frames through Objects, a blog project on cohost!