Eyeshade
ca. 1980 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The eyewear firm Oliver Goldsmith created then periodically reissued this design in the 1970s and 1980s. Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded his eyewear company, Oliver Goldsmith, in London in 1926. In 1935 his son Charles Goldsmith entered the family 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.
The company initially designed this eyeshade for an eyewear tradeshow, with the Oliver Goldsmith name and its products printed directly on the design. Selling staff were required to wear the eyeshades at the event and were encouraged to distribute them as promotional gifts. This strategy reflected the company's keen focus on marketing and publicity.
The company initially designed this eyeshade for an eyewear tradeshow, with the Oliver Goldsmith name and its products printed directly on the design. Selling staff were required to wear the eyeshades at the event and were encouraged to distribute them as promotional gifts. This strategy reflected the company's keen focus on marketing and publicity.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Tinted plastic with printed text, and elastic |
| Brief description | Tinted plastic eyeshade with an elastic band, made by Oliver Goldsmith Eyewear, Great Britain, ca. 1980 |
| Physical description | Green tinted plastic eyeshade with an elastic band. Gold lettering printed on the eyeshade. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'EYEWEAR / OLIVER GOLDSMITH / SUNGLASSES' (Printed on the eyeshade in gold) |
| 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 | The eyewear firm Oliver Goldsmith created then periodically reissued this design in the 1970s and 1980s. Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded his eyewear company, Oliver Goldsmith, in London in 1926. In 1935 his son Charles Goldsmith entered the family 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. The company initially designed this eyeshade for an eyewear tradeshow, with the Oliver Goldsmith name and its products printed directly on the design. Selling staff were required to wear the eyeshades at the event and were encouraged to distribute them as promotional gifts. This strategy reflected the company's keen focus on marketing and publicity. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.245C-1990 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | October 8, 2008 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
