Glasses and Case
1940s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded the Oliver Goldsmith 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 Snowden, the actor Diana Dors, Princess Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales.
These frames were designed for ordinary use and for use when wearing a respirator, or gas-mask. The frames were not designed by Oliver Goldmith; rather they were supplied by the British Government to the Oliver Goldsmith company to be fitted with prescriptions lenses.
These frames were designed for ordinary use and for use when wearing a respirator, or gas-mask. The frames were not designed by Oliver Goldmith; rather they were supplied by the British Government to the Oliver Goldsmith company to be fitted with prescriptions lenses.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Metal |
| Brief description | Rounded metal spectacles and a rectangular case, Great Britain, 1940s |
| Physical description | Rounded metal spectacles with curved sides and a rectangular case. |
| 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. These frames were not made by Oliver Goldsmith Eyewear. |
| Summary | Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded the Oliver Goldsmith 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 Snowden, the actor Diana Dors, Princess Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales. These frames were designed for ordinary use and for use when wearing a respirator, or gas-mask. The frames were not designed by Oliver Goldmith; rather they were supplied by the British Government to the Oliver Goldsmith company to be fitted with prescriptions lenses. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.242H&I-1990 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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