Goo-Goo
Glasses
1964 (made)
1964 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The eyewear firm Oliver Goldsmith created this glasses frame, titled ‘Goo-Goo’, in 1964. 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 transforming glasses from a medical necessity to 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.
Charles Oliver Goldsmith designed this frame at a time when the plastic was cut and shaped by hand in the company workshop. This design took roughly one week to make. The frame’s vibrant shade of green and slightly oversized round eye shape made it a distinctive style which was available in 100 other colours.
Charles Oliver Goldsmith designed this frame at a time when the plastic was cut and shaped by hand in the company workshop. This design took roughly one week to make. The frame’s vibrant shade of green and slightly oversized round eye shape made it a distinctive style which was available in 100 other colours.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Goo-Goo (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Coloured acetate and plastic |
| Brief description | Plastic framed glasses 'Goo-Goo' with a round eye shape, made by Oliver Goldsmith Eyewear, Great Britain, 1964 |
| Physical description | Emerald green plastic framed glasses with a round eye shape and straight sides with serrated ends. |
| Dimensions |
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| 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 this glasses frame, titled ‘Goo-Goo’, in 1964. 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 transforming glasses from a medical necessity to 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. Charles Oliver Goldsmith designed this frame at a time when the plastic was cut and shaped by hand in the company workshop. This design took roughly one week to make. The frame’s vibrant shade of green and slightly oversized round eye shape made it a distinctive style which was available in 100 other colours. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.244S-1990 |
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| Record created | November 27, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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