9 November 2018

Sex, mountains, love and fashion in Austria
Alpinism time travel from the 1830s to nowadays
I. Sex and mountains: Satirical song from the 1870s
II. Love to mountains: Tyrol's first travel guide with clothing tips from 1837
III. Mountain fashion in Austria: Protection of skin, eyes and around 150 years old sunglasses

III. Mountain fashion in Austria: Protection of skin and eyes at the first ascent to Grossvenediger and an example of around 150 years old sunglasses

The last chapter (II.) started with the image of a mountaineer inclusively short description of his clothing and gear. The drawing of the alpinist was found at the book about the first ascent to Grossvenediger which happened in 1841. In chapter III., Fashion.at looks closer at the sun and eye protection tips of the 19th century.

The mid-19th century is named the 'Golden Era of Alpinism' as many summits were ascended for the first time. One of them is the Grossvenediger summit in Tyrol/Salzburg. The song (described at chapter I.) referenced the ascent of an alpinist from Dietenheim near Bruneck, South Tyrol who took in the 1870s the route to East Tyrol, Matrei, up to the Prager hut and from there to the Grossvenediger (Great Venetian) summit. In 1841, the Grossvenediger was for the first time successfully ascended; from a group of 40 people, 26 reached the peak.

fig. right (detail from the drawing of the book 'Der Gross-Venediger' written by Ignaz von Kürsinger and Dr. Spitaler, published by Wagner'sche Buchandlung, Innsbruck, 1843 - picture below): The image shows the men on the way to the summit. The clothing differs from knee-length trousers to long pants, traditional trachten jackets with region typical hats to elegant knee-length coats (frock coats) with cylinders. The group members came from various Austrian regions, different professions and social classes.

The first Grossvenediger ascent was accompanied by a scientific research on glaciers, climate and the impact of heights on humans such as the effects of thinner air on the organism or the impact of the radiance of the sun on skin and eyes. The tour was documented in a book written by Ignaz von Kürsinger and Dr. Spitaler - both authors reached the summit in 1841, with details such as strategies of the mountaineers to protect the face skin with oil and firepowder or with transparent green or black veils - last mentioned veils were also used for the protection of the eyes; even green or blue glasses were worn such as the authors pointed out. The mountaineers' pain caused by sun rays was described as severe and affected the men massively; especially snow-blindness as result of the reflecting snow was a problem. It should last around 100 years until effective sun protection had been developed. In the late 1930s, Austrian mountaineer and scientist Dr. Franz Greiter began to produce skin care for mountaineers. In 1946, Greiter founded with the sunscreen product 'Glacier Cream' the label Piz Buin; in the 1960s, he developed the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) system. The production of glasses with effective light protection began in the 20th century; the German company Zeiss was a pioneer in this field and offered from 1927 'URO-Punktal' lenses for the protection against ultrared light.

fig. below: Blue shades were in fashion in the 19th century. Perhaps the blue glasses used by Grossvenediger mountaineers looked similar like the one on view at the image on this page. The sunglasses are from the private archive located in Bruneck, South Tyrol. There is no closer information available about the eyewear such as who the owner was, only that the sunglasses originate from the 19th century. A similar form of the frame can also be found at the portrait of the co-author of the Grossvenediger book Ignaz von Kürsinger (image) as well as well as at the portrait of Beda Weber (image), the author of the first travel guide of Tyrol.