Industrialist Albert B. Wells of Southbridge, Massachusetts, became interested in the beauty of hand-wrought utilitarian objects in the early 1900s on annual tours of Europe with his father-in-law, the noted Chicago architect Daniel Hudson Burnham. Wells had great respect and admiration for Burnham, who famously advised, “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood… Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone be a living thing.” Wells took this advice to heart and kept Burnham’s words framed on his wall as a lasting source of inspiration. Working closely with his older brother Channing M. and younger brother J. Cheney, A.B. Wells built their father’s business, the American Optical Corporation, into what was once the largest and most innovative eyeglass manufacturer in the world.

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Learn more about the life of     Albert Bacheller WELLS.

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