Geer, Dubois advertising agency began asking, “Who are behind those Foster Grants?” In response to that query came answers such as Peter Sellers, Louis Jordan and Claudia Cardinale from Hollywood film stars Peter Sellers, Louis Jordan and Claudia Cardinale; Foster Grant became one of America’s best-known brands thanks to this groundbreaking campaign which was later ranked 66th by Advertising Age as one of its greatest of the 20th century.
Sam Foster, an Austrian immigrant who co-founded his company with William Grant in 1919 and first popularized sunglasses on Atlantic City boardwalk in 1929 was relatively unknown until now. Read further to gain more insight into their history and who made them into a status symbol!
People had long worn goggles to protect their eyes from the sun’s glare for centuries, such as Inuit people who wore goggles made of walrus ivory or caribou antler with only narrow slits to allow the brilliant Arctic sun’s reflection off snow to penetrate. Roman Emperor Nero may have enjoyed viewing gladiatorial combat through polished green gems; early Chinese judges used smoky quartz panes not for sun protection, but to disguise any telltale expressions on their faces.
Eyeglasses for vision correction were first invented in Italy around 1284 by an experimenter named Salvino D’Armate (1258-1312). Legend has it that D’Armate injured his eyes studying light refraction and created eyeglasses to treat farsightedness; later lenses appeared for nearsightedness sufferers and astigmatism sufferers had to wait until 1825 before relief could be provided.
Eyeglass Frames Are Created
Central to the future of sunglasses was Spanish artisans’ creation of eyeglass frames with temple pieces extending all the way up to the ears in the 1600s, revolutionizing eyewear design by no longer restricting it only to perching atop one’s nose (although this style made a comeback in 1840s). Extreme versions called wig spectacles also became increasingly popular around this time, boasting temple pieces extending far beyond ears into men’s wigs!
Women who associated eyeglasses with infirmity and old age often opted for the lorgnette, which was designed for convenient hand-held use with a handle, for their spectacle needs. By the mid-1800s, many designs also included mechanical pencils, fans and ear trumpets in its design.
Plastic frames were crucial in protecting eyes in bright sunlight. Even James Ayscough, who is generally credited as being responsible for developing tinted lenses in 1752, wasn’t particularly concerned with sun protection; rather he thought green and blue tints could improve impaired vision correction.
Sam Foster co-founded Foster Grant in Leominster, Mass. to produce women’s hair accessories; but when shorter women’s hairstyles lowered profits at Foster Grant, this breakthrough proved especially crucial. Plastic injection molding technology used in such products also worked beautifully as sunglasses frames! This breakthrough helped increase profits significantly.
According to research by Samuel Foster’s relative, Samuel L. Foster Jr. was born June 22 in Skala, Austria – a suburb of Vienna – to an Ashkenazi Jewish family with Russian roots; his parents were Samuel Shmuel Carl Foster and Fanny Frieda Talchinsky; although “Foster” may not have been their original surname. According to 1920 US census information which shows Sam Foster working in “celluloid”, Sam immigrated in 1896 and naturalized himself in 1915.
Foster’s first venture, producing fireworks, quickly went bankrupt. However, upon learning plastics trade with Viscoloid Co. he ventured out on his own again with salesman William Grant as his business partner – but finances proved tight enough that they couldn’t change company names; one lucrative contract manufacturing plastic dice for Kresge stores saved Foster until sunglasses came along and saved their business until that happened too.
Foster introduced sunglasses into retail shops when he persuaded Woolworth’s of Atlantic City, NJ, to sell 10 cent sunglasses over-the-counter; these were first sold directly by Foster rather than via an optician. His persistence soon got them into other stores that also sold his company’s hair accessories: according to one account he would offer to “dress up this window for you,” saying if the glasses didn’t sell he would collect them up himself!
Soon stores across the nation were asking him for more sunglasses. By 1938, Life magazine reported that 20 million had been sold the previous year alone! Life called them a new “fad for wear on city streets… an affectation favored by thousands of women all across America”. Movie stars donned them either to avoid paparazzi photographers or as protection from harsh lighting on sets; even the King of Egypt himself could often be found wearing them!
Optician’s history of sunglasses’ rise to popularity during the Depression is particularly significant: “[Sunglasses] symbolized glamour and wealth during decades when neither were in abundance.
Business Booms
Sunglasses were quickly becoming practical. Edwin H. Land began manufacturing lenses using his Polaroid filter, while as World War II approached Europe Bausch & Lomb made their first Ray-Ban “Aviator” sunglasses to protect pilots’ eyes from glare.
Foster Grant sunglasses were synonymous with glamour and sunglasses-related imagery thanks to ad spend totalling one million annually by the mid 1970s, including sponsorship of the World Series. Sam Foster moved his family from Pennsylvania to California in 1942; Joseph took over management of Foster Grant while Sam turned his focus toward inventing an automatic car-parking device; Sam died peacefully at age 83 without much fanfare in Los Angeles in 1966.
