Eye glasses

[major bill]

We see a fair number of reenactors wearing eye glasses. Does anyone have an idea how common it was for Civil War soldiers to wear glasses? The number of photographs of men wearing glasses is limited.

Were men with extremely poor vision even allowed in to the Army?

 

[johan_steele]

We see a fair number of reenactors wearing eye glasses. Does anyone have an idea how common it was for Civil War soldiers to wear glasses? The number of photographs of men wearing glasses is limited.

Were men with extremely poor vision even allowed in to the Army?

Glasses were comparable in price to those of today (figuring inflation) and there were optometrists in the country. How common were they is the question, I think that all depended upon location. IIRC I've read that there were less than a dozen west of the Mississippi prior to the war. They would typically travel from town to town with their kit. I have two pair of original glasses that were most likely display models.

One of the things with glasses in the era is a man would almost certainly have removed them for a picture.

Poor vision was enough to disqualify a man from the army but I've seen pics and read references to men with glasses being in the US military at the time.

 

[Yosemite]

Does anyone know where I can get period correct tinted ones to help with the sun ? My re-enacting group told me that some were tinted to help with direct sun

 

[drezac]

Does anyone know where I can get period correct tinted ones to help with the sun ? My re-enacting group told me that some were tinted to help with direct sun

Townsend and sons

While he specializes in an earlier time period, many of his items do cross over to the Civil War era. With few exceptions, the items he carries are based on originals. The few that are not he clearly states that. Both me and my wife have his GL-790 19th Century Glasses. Any Optical store should be able to make lenses for them

Townsend Video on eyeglasses

Unless you really need them, I would stay away from tinted once. From what I have heard (no hard documentation) that tinted glasses were very rarely seen.

 

[major bill]

A bit off topic but I recently got to tour the storage area of a major museum. They had draws full of eye glasses form various periods. There were hundred and hundreds of them.

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

Glasses were expensive....
Wearing them was an embarrassment (or so I have read, and the source does not come to mind) as they were considered an effeminate weakness....
In photos, glasses would reflect light, and were thus not condusive to a good photograph....

We see them more in modern reenacting because we can afford them (with insurance) and we realize that we need them for daily wear and they can be replaced far easier, if broken, then an 1861 person would be able to.....

 

[mofederal]

It sounds like a soldier would wear them only if he needed them to read, and probably kept hidden otherwise.

 

[WJC]

We see a fair number of reenactors wearing eye glasses. Does anyone have an idea how common it was for Civil War soldiers to wear glasses? The number of photographs of men wearing glasses is limited.

Were men with extremely poor vision even allowed into the Army?

Good question! Were eye tests even used to screen recruits? If so were they pretty rudimentary, like asking "How many fingers do you see?"

 

[Tailor Pete]

Being an ocularly challenged reenactor myself, I wondered the same things.

First, glasses, while probably not as common as today, were worn by a great many people in the 1800's. They were stigmatized as a sign of weakness, despite the popular image of Ben Franklin wearing spectacles.

Second, tinted lenses were not at all common, and should be avoided by reenactors. Usually (though not always) tinted lenses were used as a type of medical therapy for a variety of ailments including, but not limited to venereal diseases.

Third, period frames, in remarkably good condition, can still be purchased at antique shops for less than $50.00. Choose oval or rectangular frames (round and octagonal frames are from the 1960's to present day) WITHOUT nose pads. Also stay away from the wrap-around ear wires. Wings on period glasses had either flattened tips, or loops into which cotton cording was once tied, acting like 19th Century 'Croakies.'

Finally, try using contact lenses. It gives you one less thing to worry about at a reenactment.

 

[Yosemite]

Wear contacts. Just that the bright sun does a number on my green eyes. Noticed @ our re-enactment last weekend @ Red Bluff California, that many were wearing period correct tinted glasses because of the bright sun. Our artillery Captain ( he was @ Gettysburg for the 150 ) was wearing some , and he said his were from Otter Traders. Looked it up,and that was not the right place.

 

[grace]

Thank you! *scowls at thick plastic frames

Maybe I'll just...have a headache? Probably. XD

 

[captaindrew]

I wear glasses but take them off at reenactments. For one I can't find a period frame that fits my large dome. Remember too that most soldiers of the day were late teens and early 20s. I didn't start wearing glasses till about 30 so I'd say many of them didn't need them yet. So I just do without, haven't walked into any trees yet or shot at my own guys.