Scored these on eBay
I save searches on eBay (bet you can imagine what some of them are!) and from time to time I get an alert. Unless it’s something I desperately want, I usually bid low and forget about it. These just arrived in the mail, I don’t even remember bidding on them. They’re ok, but I think I prefer the photo to the actual item. There’s something about the way the case catches the light, and the antique type behind, that’s very appealing. But in real life they feel flimsy, and have metal arms as opposed to the lace tie-up affair on my main pair, which I think is awkward and therefore rather suave. Still, I suppose it’s good to have a spare pair for the tour in case my #1 goggles get run over by a tram.
See, for stuff to be cool, it has to have been designed by someone who thought they were turning the world upside down. But little did they know. In Detroit in the 1920′s there were apparently more than 160 motor car companies. They made them in all shapes and sizes because nobody was quite sure what a motor car was yet. Some had a tiller to steer with. Now THAT would be travelling in style!
April 8th, 2006 at 5:55 am
Those are pretty dang funky, but they do look incredibly fragile!
This reminds me, you utterly influenced my choice of eyewear in the 80s. I remember, when I arrived in London to study at the LSE, all of us “long term foreign students” were given NHS cards. The first thing I did was run to the student optical dispensary because someone told me that one of the eyeglass frames available on the student plan “really looked like Dolby specs.” Those were the only glasses I wore for the next few years. Oh, how bummed I was when my wonderful little round gold frames finally bit the dust!
April 8th, 2006 at 9:23 am
Thomas, I caught this at boingboing.net the other day and seems relevant to the topic at hand. I saw some of the pictures and immediately thought they were most definitely Dolby-worthy®.
http://www.antiquespectacles.com/history/through_the_ages.htm
April 8th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
merujo – me too!
when i was in 10th grade my mom and I argued like crazy over the style of prescription glasses i wanted. little gold, round glasses that wrapped around my ears. she was sure i would never wear them, she wanted me to get really big frames, like she had. but, i won and i *loved* them…i loved the studious look they gave me so much that i even went on to get some conservative “school teacher” looking outfits.
…now, that made my mom happy – a nice change from the thermal underwear and mismatched sneakers she’d been used to seeing me head to school in.
thanks for inspiring that little trip down memory lane..
spikey
April 8th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
This is a great look for you again Thomas love all the accessories glasses, headphones and leather coat.
Looking forward to seeing you play in london it’s been far far too long……. fantastic idea with the daily blog too.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Dear Phos,
I was rambling through the back pages on the blog. I recalled a photo or two I wanted to get and had no other way but to thumb through things a page at the time. While looking for something else, (the glass jewelry by Lunesse) I came across this image of the driving goggles.
V&O came over as planned on the 23rd and we watched TSI DVD for the first time together. Very pleased and very glad I made the investment. A few evenings ago, I was visited by my Brother In Law and his wife. Both with PhD’s in Literature, I am often on edge as to how to entertain them. They had been invited over for dessert and “The Sole Inhabitant” show. About 15 years younger than me (I’m 54), the Dolby Era was very much a blast from the past for them. The whole “Dolby Persona”, trench coat, headphones, goggles, camera, I made the comment that you seemed to be from the “Borg Collective”. This was always the impression I got on looking at the photos and performnces. Then it hit me, I had a pair of those antique utility goggles as well. I dashed off to the bedroom where I knew just where they were stored. Got them out, put them on and came back in the room and made a few entertaining poses. The pair I have are from the early 40′s. My father was a heli-arc welder in the ship yard in Newport News during WWII and these were the standard issue shades. Now I want to shoot a picture of them and post it for you to see. These have the same hinged side panels, but the ear pieces fold up “backwards” toward the front. I don’t have many mementos that belonged to my father by but this is one of them. I’ll post a link later. Hope there is a way that the blog notifies, even if the original post was from long ago. Must dash off to cello tutorials for my daughter. Sorry to have been away from the blog. Miss too many details.