Optician more important and dignified. Far-sighted or aging colonial Americans imported spectacles from Europe. Spectacles were primarily for the affluent and literate colonists, who required a valuable and precious appliance. Benjamin Franklin in the 1780s developed the bifocal. Bifocal lenses advanced little in the first half of the 19th century. The terms bifocal and trifocal were introduced in London by John Isaac Hawkins, whose trifocals were patented in 1827. In 1884 B. M. Hanna was granted patents on two forms of bifocals which become commercially standardized as the "cemented" and "perfection" bifocals. Both had the serious faults of ugly appearance, fragility,
L'Officiel des Spectacles in June 1954. In 1973 the format was established that is still utilised today. The contents of the sections have progressively evolved to adapt to the changing language and mores of Parisians and inhabitants of Île de France. In 2013, the guide was divided into nine major sections: Since June 1, 2013, "L'Officiel des spectacles" has been published by Offi Médias, the offspring of the association between Christophe Richemond, the son of Jean-Philippe Richemond, and Xavier Pauporté, the director of TheatreOnline. In 2013, the weekly publication figures were reported to be 72,404 copies, and the total distribution was 48,079 copies.