History
The word visor originated from the Anglo-French word viser, which used the root vis, meaning face. In Early Modern, or Shakespearean, English, the word visard was used to mean any type of mask or disguise.
Some of the first visors had the sole purpose of protecting the eyes from being damaged by physical contact. Visors consisted of a leather or metal shield with slots or multiple small holes through which the wearer could see. The most notable type of this historical visor is on the helmets of medieval soldiers or knights wearing a suit of full plate-mail armour. Many types of visors such as this existed for military or combat purposes. Some of these visors were affixed to the helmet and immovable, while other types were set on a hinge, usually at the top, so the visor could be lifted up. This allowed the wearer to eat, drink, speak, or get a better view without having to remove and lose the protection of the entire helmet.
Later, visors became adapted for another use, as shading or protection from the heat and brightness of sunlight. Initially, wide-brimmed hats were used for this purpose. Eventually, in some types of hats, the brim was removed from around the hat except for over the eyes. The part of a hat that hangs or extends over the eyes for protection from the sun can be called a visor, a peak, or a bill. Peaked caps are often worn as part of military uniforms. Billed caps originated in the U.S. from the sport of baseball, but are now worn worldwide as a modern casual clothing accessory, especially by young people.
Early 20th Century
After the inventions of celluloid and polycarbonates, transparent and translucent types of visors joined the standard opaque versions. These types of visors allow light to be filtered and flow through the visor rather than simply being blocked by the visor. Clear transparent visors with no light disturbances began to be used for protection. Tinted visors came into use to protect the eyes from light. One of the first examples of a tinted visor is the green eyeshade. In the early to mid-20th century, green eyeshades were widely used by accountants, newspaper or magazine editors, and others whose professions required them to look at numbers or read for hours on end.
The first green eyeshade visors came about as a reaction to the invention of the incandescent light bulb. As people began to work after dark with the use of light bulbs, many started to develop eyestrain from the harsh light emitted by early versions of electric lighting. At first, leather visors were used, but this soon gave way to visors made of coloured paper. Eventually, visors began to be constructed out of an early precursor to plastic, celluloid. The green or blue-green shading provided by these visors greatly reduced eyestrain, and many businesses invested in the green eyeshades to increase productivity from workers required to read as the primary function of their jobs. In the 1970s, this type of visor was popularized as a fashion accessory for some time by American gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. As improvements in electric lighting were made in later decades, green eyeshades were no longer necessary.
Modern Visors
Visors are currently used for a number of modern applications and by a number of different professionals, from athletes to astronauts. Visors are also used in many casual settings when engaging in personal hobbies or leisure activities. They can be used strictly for protection of the eyes from physical contact, protection of the eyes from light, or a combination of both. Most visors are now made of plastics rather than glass or metals. The following are some of the types of visors used in the modern world.
