American Optical

We came across some OD magazines from the 70's - the print advertising for American Optical was fantastic! 

 Here are a few snippets of the history of the company copied from their website: 

AO War Effort    1917-1946

"In 1917, AO designed and built 8 mobile optical units to support U.S. troops and Allied Forces in Europe during WWI.  These self-contained eyeglass facilities were stocked with all necessary frames, lenses, refractive equipment and machines for the fitting and filling of prescription and distribution of sunglasses.  Two white metal frames, "Liberty"  and "Victory" were put to service in the field.  A record of two and one-half million glasses were furnished to the US Government for the war effort.

During WWII, AO had again come to the forefront with new optical products developed by their research laboratories.  This development work allowed AO to supply the US Government with new products including gun sights, bombsights, AR glass, aviation goggles, sunglasses and precision optics for military and instrument applications.

Between 1943 and 1944, a total of 10 million goggles frames, 5 million pairs of sunglasses and over 6.5 million pairs of lenses were ground and polished including 1.4 million prescriptions delivered to the Armed Forces.

By 1946, AO's contribution to the war effort was so substantial that the Company and the entire work force were presented the Army-Navy "E" award as recognition for their dedication to the cause of national defense."

Contemporary Eyewear    1958-Present

"It was in 1958 that the Flight Goggle 58, now known as the Original Pilot Sunglass was produced for the US military to provide pilots with maximum protection, optical performance and comfort.  Right to  the present time, the Original Pilot is still being manufactured in the AO complex in Southbridge, Massachusetts.

In fact the Original Pilot Sunglass was honored to be the first ever sunglass to land on the moon worn by Commander Neil Armstrong and the crew of Apollo 11 in 1969.  It now resides on permanent display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Subsequent years saw numerous collections of AO frames and sunglasses made and sold.  A plethora of fascinating and mind-boggling shapes, colors, sizes, materials and designs were offered.  They were the trendsetters in their own right.  AO Sunvogue sunglasses could be found on the cool bikers in the 1969 movie, Easy Rider.  The hotshot aviators in "Top Gun" wore aviator shaped frames as well.

In the fashion industry, trends and eyewear designs come and go.  Occasionally a style or two will return for a period.  AO Eyewear prides itself on its products, classic lines and styling.  These products, developed with function first, remain in vogue year in and year out."

***** Copied from AO History

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