Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History, Volume 47, Number 1  From the Editor 2016| Page 4 

 

From the Editor 
 

AUTHORS WANTED! 

n 1969, Maria Dablemont and Henry Hofstetter plotted the formation of the 
Optometric Historical Society.  In August of that year, Hofstetter sent a letter 
to ten persons of his “acquaintance who have been concerned very actively and 

obviously with optometric history as a subject of avid interest.”1  In that letter were the 
by-laws for the OHS that Hofstetter and Dablemont had drafted and a request to indicate 
willingness to serve on the Executive Board to help organize the society.  The initial OHS 
Executive Board consisted of Hofstetter (president), John Levene (vice-president), 
Dablemont (secretary-treasurer), Arthur Hoare, and Sol Tannebaum.  In October, 1969, 
a press release was sent to various optometric periodicals inviting membership in OHS by 
remitting a dues payment of $5.  By January 1, 1970, there were 33 founding members 
who had paid their dues. 
 Among the purposes of OHS outlined in its initial by-laws were “to encourage the 
collection and preservation of materials relating to the history of optometry” and “to assist 
in securing and documenting the recollections of those who have participated in the 
development of optometry.”2 The quarterly publication of the OHS has been attempting 
to support those purposes ever since the first issue of the Newsletter of the Optometric 
Historical Society was mailed to members in January, 1970. 
 The name of the OHS quarterly publication was changed to Hindsight: Newsletter 
of the Optometric Historical Society starting with volume 23 in 1992 and to Hindsight: 
Journal of Optometry History starting with volume 38 in 2007.  In 2013, back issues of 
the OHS publications were made available on the Indiana University digital repository 
IUScholarWorks.i Starting with this issue, current issues of Hindsight will be among the 
journals found on IUScholarWorks.   
 With the publication of this issue, Hindsight and its predecessor newsletter have 
now accumulated more than 3,000 pages.  This represents a significant compendium of 
optometry history.  In 1996, Hofstetter noted that Hindsight had helped to “document 
optometry’s centuries-long existence and emergence from a prestigious and sophisticated 
handicraft to its present academic stature, a truly proud history which includes many 
prominent and accomplished personalities.”3  We have continued to try to live up to that 
goal, but there is one way that we could do better.  In the twenty issues from 2011 through 
2015, we had just 28 different authors.  I believe we could have many more. 

Have you witnessed or led an important event in optometry history?  Did you have 
an optometry school instructor or a mentor or a colleague that you admired or you found 
particularly memorable?  Do you have a collection of eyeglasses or other visual aids?  Do 
you have a collection of optometric equipment, books, or memorabilia?  Did you have 
interesting experiences practicing optometry in the Armed Forces?  Have you had 
experiences in optometry that give you a unique perspective on its contributions or its 
heritage?  Do you know of museums or libraries that have good collections of ophthalmic 
materials?  Do you come from a family of several generations of optometrists?  Are you in 
a practice that has been in existence for a long period of time?  Did your state association 
recently have a centennial celebration?  Are you a member of another optometric 
organization that recently had a historical milestone?  Do you have knowledge of the  

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Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History, Volume 47, Number 1  From the Editor 2016| Page 5 

 

 
development of a particular optometric testing technique, treatment method, or piece of 
equipment?  Are you interested in the history of optics or vision science?  Are you 
knowledgeable about the history of the manufacture of lenses or optical equipment?  Have 
you done or would you like to do research on some aspect of optometry history?  

If you can answer yes to any of those questions, we would like you to write for 
Hindsight.  Submission of your article on the Hindsight website on IUScholarWorks 
is preferred, but you can also send a Word document to the editor at dgoss@indiana.edu.  
Instructions to authors can be found in recent issues and on the website. 
 
David A. Goss 
Editor, Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History  
 
References 
1. Hofstetter HW. How and when we began. Newsletter Optom Hist Soc 1977;8:55-57.  
2. By-laws of the Optometric Historical Society. Newsletter Optom Hist Soc 1970;1:2-5. 
3. Hofstetter HW. The OHS mission.  Hindsight 1996;27:17-18. 

 

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