Renaissance Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes - (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society) by Vincent Ilardi (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Deals with the history of eyeglasses from their invention in Italy ca. 1286 to the appearance of the telescope three cent. later. "By the end of the 16th cent. eyeglasses were as common in western and central Europe as desktop computers are in western developed countries today." Eyeglasses served an important technological function at both the intellectual and practical level, not only easing the textual studies of scholars but also easing the work of craftsmen/small bus. During the 15th cent. two crucial developments occurred: the ability to grind convex lenses for various levels of presbyopia and the ability to grind concave lenses for the correction of myopia. As a result, eyeglasses could be made almost to prescription by the early 17th cent. Illus.

Review Quotes

"[A] great achievement...Ilardi has done more than expand our knowledge of a particular area of history....He has created a substantial history of eyeglasses that had not existed before."--Pamela O. Long "Speculum"

"[A] masterful, scholarly, and readily readable work...a tour de force...truly brilliant!"--Jay M. Enoch "Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History"

"[A]rguably the most important book on the history of spectacles."--David A. Fleischman "The Online Museum and Encyclopedia of Vision Aids"

"A comprehensive and painstakingly researched account."-- "Ophthalmic Antiques"

"Delightfully absorbing."-- "Colloquy"

"If the early history of eyeglasses were a geographical territory, this book would be its Michelin Guide. Like any good tour book, it is authoritatively informative without being pedantic, often entertaining, and satisfyingly comprehensive...It is the product of decades of research and thought informed throughout by Ilardi's vast knowledge of social, political, intellectual, and economic developments...[A] truly definitive study that bids fair to remain so for decades to come."--A. Mark Smith "Muncius"