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| Ray-Ban logo |
Name: "Ray-Ban Aviator"
Category: Fashion
Subcategory: Sunglasses
First producer: Bausch & Lomb (founded in 1853 by John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb)
Prototype made in: 1936
Production start: 1937 - Rochester, New York, USA
First price: 6.00 USD in 1939
Features: The prototype, known as "Anti-Glare", had plastic frames and green lenses that could cut out the glare without obscuring vision. It was remodeled with a metal frame the following year and rebranded as the "Ray-Ban Aviator".
Interesting facts: The history of the Ray-Ban Aviator dates back to the 1930s, when many US Army Air Service pilots were reporting that the glare from the sun was giving them headaches and altitude sickness. In 1929, US Army Air Corps Lieutenant General John MacCready asked Bausch & Lomb, a Rochester, New York-based medical equipment manufacturer, to create aviation sunglasses that would reduce the headaches and nausea experienced by pilots, which are caused by the intense blue and white hues of the sky. A new kind of glasses were introduced; on May 7, 1937, Bausch & Lomb took out the patent, and the Aviator was born.
Slogan (1938): «Champions and Leaders wear Ray-Ban Anti-Glare»
Property: Bausch & Lomb - Luxottica
Official website: http://www.ray-ban.com
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| "Ray-Ban Aviator", the first model of Ray-Ban sunglasses |
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Douglas Mac Arthur (Jan. 26, 1880 - Apr. 5, 1964), the US Army Air Corps Lieutenant General who asked the creation of Ray-Ban sunglasses |
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First Ray-Ban advertisement, 1938 |
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| Ray-Ban advertisement September 1939 |
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| Ray-Ban advertisement 1939 (Von Lengerke & Antoine, spring and summer catalog) |
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| Ray-Ban newspaper advertisements 1940 (The Key West citizen, Key West, Fla., left: March 23, right: March 30) |
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| Ray-Ban newspaper advertisements 1940 (The Key West citizen, Key West, Fla., left: April 6, right: April 13) |
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| Ray-Ban newspaper advertisements 1940 (The Key West citizen, Key West, Fla., left: April 20, right: April 27) |
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Ray-Ban Aviator, an advanced model (2009, model: RB 8301 Green Classic G-15 - «This model reinterprets the iconic teardrop Aviator style. The carbon fibre temples are combined with the bold shape of the metal front with a double bridge, for a strong, decisive personality» - Luxottica) |
