Noseguard thumbnail 1
Noseguard thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Noseguard

Sunglasses
1970 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded his eyewear company in London in 1926. In 1935 his son Charles Goldsmith entered the firm with the aim of making glasses a fashion item. From the company’s offices in Poland Street, his sons A. Oliver and Ray Goldsmith built upon the company’s reputation for attention-grabbing designs and solicited celebrity endorsement for their products. Key clients included Lord Snowdon, the actor Diana Dors, Princess Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales.

A. Oliver Goldsmith created this shield-like design in 1970.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleNoseguard (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Moulded plastic
Brief description
Moulded plastic sunglasses with a nose shield 'Noseguard', made by Oliver Goldsmith Eyewear, Great Britain, 1970
Physical description
Semi-clear tinted plastic sunglasses moulded with a nose shield and lenses all-in-one, and with hinged co-ordinating semi-clear tinted plastic arms.
Dimensions
  • Height: 65mm
  • Width: 150mm
  • Depth: 70mm
Production typeReady to wear
Credit line
Given by A. Oliver Goldsmith, in memory of his father, Charles Oliver Goldsmith
Object history
Registered File number 1990/200.
These glasses form part of a design archive of the British eyewear company Oliver Goldsmith. The archive, which consists of approximately 70 glasses frames from the 1930s to the late 1980s, was donated by A. Oliver Goldsmith, grandson of the founder, and former chief designer at the firm. A. Oliver Goldsmith donated the material to the V & A in memory of his father Charles Goldsmith.
Summary
Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded his eyewear company in London in 1926. In 1935 his son Charles Goldsmith entered the firm with the aim of making glasses a fashion item. From the company’s offices in Poland Street, his sons A. Oliver and Ray Goldsmith built upon the company’s reputation for attention-grabbing designs and solicited celebrity endorsement for their products. Key clients included Lord Snowdon, the actor Diana Dors, Princess Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales.

A. Oliver Goldsmith created this shield-like design in 1970.
Collection
Accession number
T.245-1990

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Record createdOctober 4, 2007
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