Green eyeshades are a type of

visor A visor (also spelled vizor) is a surface that protects the eyes, such as shading them from the sun or other bright light or protecting them from objects. Nowadays many visors are transparent, but before strong transparent substances such a ...

that were worn most often from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century by

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

telegrapher A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio. During the Great War the Roya ...

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...

s and others engaged in vision-intensive, detail-oriented occupations to lessen eye strain due to early

incandescent light An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxidat ...

s and candles, which tended to be harsh (the classic banker's lamp had a green shade for similar reasons). Because they were often worn by people involved in

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

auditing An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

, economics, and budgeting, they became associated with these activities. Green eyeshades were often made of a transparent dark green or blue-green colored

celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common contemporar ...

, although leather and paper were used to make the visor portion as well. One manufacturer, the Featherweight Eyeshade Company, described their eyeshade as "healthful, color peculiarly restful to the eyes". Green eyeshades are still on the market, typically sold as "

dealer Dealer may refer to: Film and TV * ''Dealers'' (film), a 1989 British film * ''Dealers'' (TV series), a reality television series where five art and antique dealers bid on items * ''The Dealer'' (film), filmed in 2008 and released in 2010 * ...

's visors". They retain some popularity in the gambling community. Several individuals, including William Mahony, received patents for their eyeshade designs.

In popular culture

The

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

annually recognizes deserving journalists working in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

with its ''Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Award''. The phrase "green eye-shades" can be used as a

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek . Examples in common Engl ...

for individuals who are excessively concerned with financial matters or small and insignificant details. Greeneyeshade Mahony Patent729500

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Eyeshade Hats

In popular culture

See also

References