NEWSLETTER OF THHl (.; ,·' , ,. I I ' OPI'OMH:TRIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY """"'"" J .i :i (7000 Chippewa Street, Saint Louis, Missouri, u4s.A. 63119) U G 1 7 1973 Volume 4 April 1973 Obitual documentation: p;m~Hril m:r·w,..,,,~,~umber 2 ••-•••i~.n '-fr·•·'·n~iti\ ~ ,, \hfJ..a .. .;.'-J,_'J ~ The occasional local newspaper obituary of a deceased optometrist almost invariably reveals facets of the life of the deceased quite unknown to his colleagues even a few miles away. If he happens to have been active in state or national optometric affairs there is a modest chance that a resum~ of his contributions to society will be published in either a state or national optometric periodical. Otherwise, such information may remain in the relatively inaccessible microfilm records of local community historical archives, or be forever lost. Our failure to place the life works of each of our deceased colleagues into full perspective may well be illustrated in the February, 1973, issue of the Journal of the Texas Optometric Association (Vol. 29, No.2). In this issue, one 61 year old deceased member is featured with his portrait on the front cover and a fine full-page memorial statement prepared by Weston A. Pettey, O.D. on page 5. Dr. Pettey, geographically separated from his subject by 400 miles, wrote only of those contributions which the deceased had made to optometry. Apparently he derived his information from Texas Optometric Association files and his own personal contacts with the man in organizational work. One can only speculate on the role of the deceased in his own community and in non-optometric society. On the last page of the same issue is an extremely brief, anonymously written obituary of another deceased Texas Optometric Association member, age 52. It provides a few vital statistics and references to the fact that the deceased had been president of a Rotary Club and a Capt~in in World War II, nothing more. As I was not personally acquainted with either of these deceased men I am not prepared to judge whether there was justification for the apparent differences in printed recognition accorded them. That is not at issue in these remarks. It is a fair guess that each obituary represented simply all of the copy made available to the editor, for which the editor deserves our compliments, not our criticism. As widely distributed as we optometrists are in society, there is relatively little opportunity for us to know many of our colleagues except in professional meetings and congress hospitality rooms. When­ ever I meet a stranger from Erewhon, U.S.A., I invariably ask him if he knows an optometrist there, as I may know him too. If thus we discover a mutual acquaintance the ensuing conversation typically reveals personal information about the optometrist and his contributions to his community otherwise quite unbeknownst to me. These little tete-a-tetes are the most gratifying socia.l exercises I know, if only because they remind me of what fine colleagues I have. Though such ordinary conversation-spurring -16- tactics are in no sense obitual paradigms, they do share some of the same biographical features. Would that we had a custom whereby, say, upon the death,of a colleague three fellow optometrists who knew him best would be designated to prepare a memorial statement for publication in an appropriate opto­ metric journal. However simple the format, if it contained accurate information as to place and date of birth and death, identification of his survivors, and information on his education and career, his affili­ ations, and contributions to his profession, his country, and his community, not only would many of us be inspired, but his survivors would know that he was apprecia~ed in his profession. At the moment, I cannot think of an optometric colleague who would not be deserving of this. Texas' oldest O.D. honored: An article entitled, "Texas Optometry Honors Its Most Senior Full-time Practicing Optometrist" (journal of the Texas Optometric Association, Vol. 29, No. 1, jan. 1973, pp. 5-6) describes a visit with Dr. john c. Graves, of Kilgore, Texas. Dr. Graves was born in 1895. His father was also an optometrist. "Dr. john" attended Bradley Polytechnic Institute in Peoria prior to 1918 and later in the 20's took a six months course with Bill Needles. He is the holder of a 40 year continuous membership card in the OEP. Optometrist in Poland: O.H.S. member Bernard Mrozinski, Skrytka pocztowa 35, 85-950 Bydgoszcz, Poland, wrote to explain his long silence by his extreme overload of "patients for refractions, spectacles, contact lenses, and other consultations .•• from morning to evening every day. The office was always full." In june he gave a two-hour lecture on refraction to a state congress of ophthalmologists, and was invited to attend every future congress. In November he lectured at the ophthalmic opticians' congress in Leipzig, East Germany, on the moulding and fitting of haptic lenses, for which he prepared 50 slides. Then in january of this year he was presented the Citizen of Honor award by the Council of the City of Bydgoszcz in an official ceremony in the town hall. That's not all. In response to an inquiry from me he is collecting documents and biographical information about Vitellius, and a copy of an old portrait of Vitellius. He reports that Vitellius wrote ten volumes on optics. Before the last war there was a copy of his works in the town of Lwtw, now under Russian jurisdiction, but he is not sure where it is now. He will try to find out. He suggests that the original may be in the Vatican library. He included some photographs of his office, showing rather impressive optometric equipment, much of which he built himself. He reminds us that this year is the 500th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) the Polish astronomer who "stopped the Sun and moved the Earth." -17- DZIEJE OKULISTYKI: This is the title of a startingly unusual and impressive book, in Polish, by Wladyslaw Henryk Melanowski, published by Panstwowy Zaklad Wydawnictw Lekarskich, Warsaw, 1972. It is a biographical and historical account of ophthalmological developments through the centuries and throughout the world. It includes 158 illustrations of historical ophthalmic interest and 372 portraits of ophthalmic and ophthalmological personalities, accompanied by biographical notes. I must confess that I had never before seen the great majority of photos contained in this single volume of 404 pages, priced at 50 zloty (ca. $12.00). Symbolic of the contents of the book is an artistic apotropaion on the jacket and on the title page .• My copy is a gift from the aforementioned Mr. Mrozinski. New international newsletter: INTEROPTICS, Bulletin of the International Optometric and Optical League, made its first appearance in an undated issue sometime during the fall of 1972. The No. 2, Winter 1973, issue arrived here in February. Printed in four-page newsletter style, it is edited by I.O.O.L. President G. A. Wheatcroft and Secretary P. A. Smith, offices at 65 Brook Street, London WlY 2DT, England. The first two issues include optometric and ophthalmic news items from England, Germany, Belgium, Ethiopia, Chile, Italy, South Africa, Scotland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, France, Spain, Canada, Luxembourg, and the U.S.A. This new publication brings to mind a monthly periodical entitled INFOCUS compiled and published monthly for almost four years by C. s. Flick, an internationally known London, England, ophthalmic optician. For Mr. Flick international aspects of optometry were long a major hobby. Issue No. 1 appeared in February 1960 and No. 46 in December 1963. The latter appears to have been the last one. This series, in the Indiana University Optometry Library, contains a wealth of information which is virtually unattainable elsewhere. Dr. Heather writes: A letter from w. J. Heather, O.D. (l05.George Muck Drive, Kerrville South, Texas 78028), known fondly to many of us who have known him for years as 11 Jere", gives some interesting insight into optometry•s heritage. Jere turned 78 years on September 17, 1972, at which time he decided to create his own intimate Rogues• Gallery. He writes (excerpted): "For a great many of my later years I came to the conclusion that several men had greatly and favorably influenced my life. It narrowed down to nine. I sought high and low until I got their photos, mounted them •.• (They now are displayed in his homeJ. "I 1 ll tell you in brief who they are. "1. Charles Cozzens (deceased), President of A .0 .Co. who in 1939 prevailed on his friend Bill Needles to release me to become A.o.•s -cont•d- -18- Director of Prof. Relations at a time when, as you remember, Optometry was in grave trouble. "I helped formulate the American Plan and right there in stage layout the form of the Prof. Advancement Program to be later turned over to Pres. Adams of the AOA along with financial help to hold that great meeting in Detroit--for me it was Optometry's Renaissance and always will be. "2. Walter Stewart (deceased), A.O. Vice Pres. Under his inspiration I had set up and effectively activated an elaborate training course for A.O.'s 10,000 employees continent wide. 11 3. Leroy Ryer, O.D. (deceased) who was the one man in the US that Adams and I considered the unequivocal cnoice as Natl. Director General of the PAP. Later he honored me with his Ms. entitled 'One Man's Work' (Journal of the American Optometric Association, Vol. 39, No. 11, November 1968, pp.l018- 1023) describing my life from age 29 thru 70. 11 4. Henry Burnett, my pride and joy whom I selected as my assistant and who still calls himself my 'No. 1 student' • I managed to help get him his degree at Oberlin at the expense of A.O.Co. "5. Zygmunt Bowske, a warm Polish friend of mine for 40 years who jumped in to help me get my book 'off the ground'. "6. Andy Fischer, OD, a ••• friend of 50 years who worked with me on the American Plan and the PAP. Much of that work was hammered out in his apt. kitchen in Phila. and in my kitchen in Conn. 11 7. Hal Bailey, Exec. Dir. of the A.O.A. who has put our profession securely on its feet •••• A great man! "8. Fred Heather (deceased), my father, a poor but proud man who gave me an example of courage, honesty, and right living. "9. Dan Inoyue (u.s. Senator from Hawaii)." Two New Zealand optometric memorials: To our growing list of memorials to optometrists we can now add the Henry Searle Gilberd Memorial Medal and the George E. Cox Memorial Lectures, both under the auspices of the New Zealand Optometrical Association. The following account of these two memorials were prepared and submitted by optometrist Bromley M. Bennett of Napier, New Zealand (P.O. Box 79), possibly the only detailed account of these now in print: -cont'd- -19- . "Henry Searle Gilberd died 5th February 1948. Born in 1881 and educated at the Napier Boys' High School, he went to a Mr. A. Levi in Wellington to commence his optical training. In 1900 he went to England and Scotland where he spent seven years, qualifying for the F.s.M.C. examination before returning to New Zealand. He was one of the founders of N. z. Optical Association formed in 1912. During that body's short life he attended all meetings and was a member of the first Parlimentary Committee, the purpose of which was legislation for the registration of opticians. In 1921 steps were taken to revive interest by the formation of another body of practicing opticians, and Mr. Gilberd, by convening a meeting in Wellington early showed his capacity for organization. One March lst 1922 he was elected as the first President of the Institute of Optometrists of New Zealand, Incorporated. He served as President from 1922 to 1928. It can truly be said that but for Mr. Gilberd's tact, sound grasp of his duties as Chairman, competent handling of dissentients to the policy of the Institute and his outstanding personality, the Institute would not have maintained continuity of progress nor would the efforts to obtain legislation have reached success as early as 1928. "He served on the Opticians Board from 1928 until the time of his death. "When the new education scheme for the foundation of a School of Optics was approved by the Institute, Mr. Gilberd traveled the country (1944-45) raising the sum of£5,000 for this purpose. "In every way Mr. Gilberd was a big man, big in stature and in ideas but modest in everything that he did. "At the General Executive Meeting of the Institute of Opticians of N. z. (later The N. z. Optometrical Assn.), September 1951, it was 'Resolved ••• , that a commemorative medal be struck in the memory of the late H. s. Gilberd, to be awarded for meritorious service to Optometry'. "Conditions. l. The award shall be made for outstanding service rendered to Optometry. 2. The award shall be made at infrequent intervals. 3. A standing assessment committee shall recommend the making of an award, which action shall be confirmed by the Central Executive Committee. 4. The Recommendation shall be presented in the form of a prepared Statement. 5. The standing assessment committee shall consist of the President and the two immediate Past-Presidents with the President as convenor. "Recipients of the H. s. Gilberd Medals: R. Brook-Taylor, 1954; G. E. Cox, 1958; H. Atkinson and A. H. T. Rose, 1963; and Dr. T. Grosvenor, 1969. "I cannot find anything about the early days of George E. Cox, but he was 59 years of age when he died in July 1968. He commenced -cont 'd- -20- his Optomet.ric education in N. Z. and then traveled to the United Kingdom, where he qualified F.B.O.A. (Hons) F.S.M.C. (Hons) The Certificate of the London Refraction Hospital. He practiced in London and South Wales before returning to New Zealand in 1931. "When he received the H. s. Gilberd Memorial Medal in 1958 his service to Optometry was cited thus: Founder and Editor of the Institute News 1938-53. Vice-President Institute of Opticians of N. z. 1938-47 and 1955-1957. President 1957-1958. Officer in Charge of Optometrical Services for Army, Navy and Air Force; member of the Military Training Optometrical Committee; examiner for the Opticians Board of New Zealand. In 1964 he was elected a life member. He traveled N. z. collecting donations for the University Education Fund. It was this fund that was the basis for the establishment of our University Course in Optometry. "George E. Cox Memorial lectures were given by Dr. Monroe Hirsch in 1969 and Dr. Darrell Carter in 1972." George~ Giles (1904-1965): A delightfully informal account of the offical opening ceremonies for the Giles Memorial Theatre in the reconstructed London Refraction Hospital, 58-62 Newington Causeway, London S.E.l, appears in the October 13, 1972 issue of The Optician, Vol. 164, No. 4250, pp. 10-12. The reminiscing over Giles' activities is indeed a chapter in the history of British ophthalmic opticianry. More than half of the seats in the 122 person capacity theatre are named to commemorate great persons, past and present, in ophthalmic optics, and individuals and organizations making major financial contributions. that the commemorative plaque h . "G. H G. l " . ~mas eorge • ~ es, ~.e., The day I met George, in Of curious interest to me is the fact and all other references to Giles identify only the initial "H." for his middle name. 1954, he informed me that his middle name than one letter to me "George Henry". was Henry, and he signed more The Eric Culver Memorial Lecture: Detailed background information on the memorial to another optometrist came in a letter dated 16th February 1973 from Alan Ray, F.S.M.C., (address: Pendower, 1, Haddon Court Avenue, Cockfosters, Hertfordshire, Great Britain), President of the North London Association of Opticians, as follows: "Your request to Professor Bob Fletcher of The City University for background information on the above lecture has been forwarded to me. No doubt you will have received the copy of the Ophthalmic Optician which gave a full report of the 1972 Lecture, when Sir Ronald Bodley Scott, K.c.v.o., spoke on 'The Eye and the Haematologist.' "Eric Culver was a distinguished Past President of the North London Association of Opticians, who took an extremely active -cont'd- -21- interest in the professional advancement of Ophthalmic Opticians. The name of Culver has been synonymous with manufacturing opticians for very many years. Following his demobilization as a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Flying Corps at the end of the first world war, it was here, in the field of manufacturing optics, that Eric Culver started his career. He qualified as a Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Spectaclemakers in 1930, and eventually practiced in Barnet. His great interest in the profession carried him to the highest national offices. He became National Chairman of The Association of Optical Practitioners in 1958. "The North London Association of Opticians has always felt closely related to The City University (formerly Northampton Polytechnic) because this great teaching institution lies within our territorial boundary. Although the students were always welcomed to our meetings, it had long been felt that a closer relationship should be sought and encouraged. In 1970 The North London Association Committee decided to hold one of their monthly meetings at The City University as a joint meeting with the Optical Students Society. This meeting, which was well supported, was addressed by Dr. Marcia Wilkinson, FRCP., Principal of the newly founded Barts-City Migraine Clinic. "The following year, 1971, saw the actual inauguration of the Eric Culver Memorial Lecture, when Dr. Joseph Blau, MD., MRCP., spoke on 'Headache and the Optician.' This proved to be a most useful lecture and the theatre was filled to capacity. The meeting ended with the presentation of a Commemorative Certificate to Dr. Blau by Mrs. Lily Culver, widow of the late Eric Culver. Full reports of this lecture were published in The Ophthalmic Optician and The Optician in Nov/Dec. 1971. 11The success of this lecture inspired North London Association to continue to make this an annual event. For the 1972 Lecture, it was a great honor to welcome Sir Ronald ·Bodley Scott, who is the Physician to H. M. The Queen. There were many distinguished visitors to this lecture and the evening was made even more delightful by being able to entertain the speaker to dinner in the Vice-Chancellor's Dining Room at The City University. "The 1973 Lecture will take place on Tuesday, 13th November, but the speaker has yet to be arranged. I had been making tentative arrangements for the lecture to be delivered byLord Rosenheim, President of the Royal College of Physicians, but his untimely death has rendered the country very much poorer; and alas, North London Association must now consider another speaker. "The object of the Lecture is to foster good relations between the Students and Staff of The City University and the practicing members of the profession; to provide a lecture of the highest calibre associated with our work as Ophthalmic Opticians that is over and above the recognized syllabus; to emphasize that the Ophthalmic Optician has a part to play in the prevention of ocular and systemic tragedy; to reinforce our knowledge and help us to play the fullest possible part in the welfare of our individual -cont' d- -22- patients; and to strive for an improvement in the quality of living for future generations. "The Lecture is therefore dedicated to the memory of Eric Culver in an Endeavour to continue and extend his good work." Some historical tidbits: "I have just received and read all of the Newsletters of the Optometric Historical Association. They are very interesting for history buffs and I hope they will continue. I have two small items which may interest you. 11 1. Our historical book collection includes 'The Legislative Manual of the State of Minnesota Compiled for the Legislature of 1903.' On page 371 there appears among a list of government committees. Board of Examiners in Optometry Alexander Sweningsen Moorhead J. w. Grainger Rochester F. A. Upham St. Paul H. M. Hitchcock Redwood Falls c. A. Snell Minneapolis "2. In regard to awards named after Optometrists, the Ontario Association of Optometrists established Thew. G. Maybee Memorial Fund in 1948. It was collected from Optometrists and had the purpose of assisting veterans to become established in practice, provide loans to needy students, give grants towards research and further optometrical education. It is still available and has been used here quite extensively. "W. G. Maybee was a pioneer Canadian optometrist. He was apprenticed before 1900 in the town of St. Catherines, Ontario. About 1904 he went to Winnipeg and was instrumental in having one of Canada's first Optometry Acts passed in 1907. The other early Act in Canada was in Quebec in 1907, also. Following this, about 1912, he returned east to Toronto where he opened a professional office on the 6th floor of the Lumsden Building. In Ontario, he was active in association affairs and influenced the enactment of the Ontario Optometry Act in 1919. Following the war he conducted a number of three month training courses for returning veterans. Mr. Maybee was on the first Board of Examiners in Ontario and was chairman of the Board from 1922-1925 when he died. His practice was taken over by the late Ivan s. Nott who also made his contribution to optometrical knowledge through the development of optometrical techniques. Both Maybee and Nott were teachers in the first publicly supported Optometry programme in Canada given at the Central Technical School, Toronto from 1921-1925. "Ivan Nott, incidentally, wrote a. portion of the AOA Home Study Course offered in those days, and served for many years as editor of the Canadian Optometrist, which ceased publication in -cont'd- -23- 1936.. Ivan died about four or five years ago. "Yours very truly, "E. J. Fisher, Professor" (Director, School of Optometry University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.) About Prentice and Bausch: "Herewith a.n interesting association between Bausch and Lomb and Charles Prentice. "Attached you will find a. patent, number 61,099, [Jan. 8, 1867) granted to James Prentice of New York. It turns out that James Prentice was Charles Prentice's father. The second enclosure is a. copy of the title page of Charles Prentice's book, "Ophthalmic Lenses". Note the publisher: James Prentice & Son. Note also the address: 178 Broadway. The next enclosure is a. title page of a price list published in 1869 by the Vulca.nite Optical Instrument Company, whose business address is 182 Broadway. Not many people know that our company was known by this name in the ten year period between 1866 and 1876. The next enclosure is a. copy of page ten of said price list and there you will find No. 34, the frame invented by James Prentice. Notice also the price: $9.00 per dozen! I hasten to add that this price did not include lenses. The addition of lenses increased the price $1.00 per dozen!! "Another association took place when the Optical Society of the State of New York was formed in February of 1896. Charles Prentice was the president and George R. Bausch was the vice president. George R. Bausch was our founder's nephew. When our founder, John Jacob Bausch, went out of the retail business he sold it to his brother, E. E. Bausch. George R. Bausch was his son. "G. Robert Bausch, O.D., is practicing in Rochester today. He is carrying on the tradition of his great grandfather, E. E. Bausch. One of these days I will make a point of getting together with him to collect as much information as I can about that branch of the family. 11Henry A. Knoll, Ph.D. Senior Scientist" (Bausch & Lomb Rochester, New York) Vision care in 1776? The following is taken from another letter from O.H.S. founding member Honry A. Knoll. -cont'd- -24- "It occurred to me that since the country is approaching its two hundredth anniversary, it might be interesting to ask members to send in historical notes concerning the state of vision care to hundred years ago. I would personally appreciate hearing from anyone who had any kind of historical information relating to the state of the art on the North American continent during the decade of 1770 1 s." Optics and optometry ~· 1930: Among some items bequeathed to the Indiana University Optometry Library was a carbon copy of a 1935 thesis by Ivy Berger in partial fulfillment of the Master of Commercial Science degree requirements at Boston University College of Business Administration. "The Manufacturing and Marketing of Eyeglass Frames and Lenses 11 is the modest title, but it is really much more. Its approximately 140 typewritten pages includes thirteen chapters covering introductory, historical, and background information, and such topics as manufacturing processes, the spectacle market, some trade practices, trade journals, outstanding associations, advertising, distribution set-up, estimated mark-up, and a summary of legal and educational requirements of optometry. The index lists 24 figures, but none was included with this copy. Otherwise this copy appears to be complete. The opening sentence reads, "The purpose of this thesis is to present, in language intelligible to the layman, all the facts that it was possible to gather, in the time at my disposal, concerning the marketing and manufacture of eyeglass frames and lenses." Interestingly she described her difficulties as well as her successes in getting information, and these difficulties were sometimes more revealing than the facts. The facts, however, may represent the most comprehensive document available for that period in our history. But who is, or was, Ivy Berger? She received the B.S. degree from Simmons College in 1930. Leading her list of persons interviewed is "Berger, C. G. (Dr.), Altantic, Massachusetts • 11 I have a hunch he was her uncle or brother, as there was a Chas. G. Berger, M.D., of Quincy, Massachusetts, listed in several issues of the Red Book of Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialists until 1959. His year of birth was 1889 and his specialty was 11E11 , meaning "Eye or Ear. 11 Letter from Puerto Rico: "February 16, 1973 "Querido amigo Henry, "I am enclosing a photocopy of the original of the most valuable Historico-Legal Document of our profession in Puerto Rico and which has been preserved for sixty four (64) years, 1909 to 1973. This document is the First Optometric Examination given in Puerto Rico by the Board of Medical Examiners in the year 1909. This examination was conducted in Spanish but I made an English translation. The answers are in Spanish and no translation was made of them to keep -cont•d- -25- the·historical value intact. The only and first applicant was my uncle, doctor Antonio Pacheco, in December of 1908. He was submitted to written and practical examinations in April of 1909, which he approved, and he was legally authorized to practice in April 15 of 1909. Legal evidence to prove this is included. "This event of April 15 of 1909, marked the beginning of our profession in Puerto Rico and planted the seed which produced a crop of eight (8) Pacheco Optometrists in three (3) generations with a total, to date, of 214 years of Legal Optometric Life. The Pacheco Optometric Family should exceed the 400 years of Legal Optometric Life in three (3) generations. "The Medical Act of 1903, which was the legal authority by which my uncle Antonio was submitted to an examination, did not mention the word Optometry. It was in 1911 that a Medical Act was approved, in which for the first time in our history, the Optometrists were included. I am enclosing a photocopy of this valuable law, which is Medical Act 79 of 1911. The second application for an Optometric License was made in the year 1913, and in this same year the second Optometric License was issued by the Board of Medical Examiners •. The .first Optometric Law was approved in Puerto Rico in the year 1930. "Now, amigo Henry, do you know of any other Optometrists in the World who have preserved for 64 years the first examination given by an Examining Board and the answers in the own handwriting of the applicant? Take your time to answer this question, and in the meanwhile, I remain "Tu amigo, Tony" (Antonio Pacheco, O.D. P.o. Box 10223 Santurce, Puerto Rico 00908) Puerto Rican optometric chronology: ANO IV, NUMERO VI of A TODOS LOS OPTOMETRAS DE PUERTO RICO, March 5, 1973, except for the title, is the first Puerto Rican newsletter in English. It consists of a chronology of 18 separate historical events between 1898 and 1973 in Puerto Rican optometry. Though the first optometric license was issued in 1909, the first Optometry Board was not established until 1931. The first appointment of three members was made by Governor Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt. Ophthalmic genealo5y, kinship, and pedigrees: Previous mentioning of substantial optometric service pedigrees in the Newsletter (Vol. 3, No. 3, July 1972, p. 24; No. 4, October 1972, p. 36; and Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1973, p. 9) has resulted in a flurry -cont 1 d- -26- of oorrespondenc~, usually with carbon copies to me. I suspect that there is a hope that I, or the Optometric Historical Society, will enter into a kind of judgeship to determine which family holds the record. Were it .a simple matter, I might be lured into undertaking this, but it takes only a little thinking to make one realize that certain ground rules would have to be adopted. For example, how would one count career years prior to statutory licensure? Should the first year of public representation of oneself as an optometrist, or in the employ of an optometrist, be considered equivalent of the year of licensure? Also, what is a relative? Should aunts, uncles, and in-laws be included? How about other relatives? Should retirement years be counted? What about those holding licenses but not engaged in optometric practice? For historical purposes, such decisions need not be made. For contest purposes, the rules could probably be designed quite legitimately to provide for different categories of winners. Optics in~ 1795 dictionary: "Humours, Juices and Apples of the Eye" by John Cole in the December 15, 1972, issue of The Optician (Vol. 164, No. 4259, pp. 4, 6, & 10) is the result of the perusal of the 17th edition of Thomas Dyche's English Dictionary, London, 1795, for optical terms. Discovered were the words ophthalmoscopy, ophthalmy, eye, jris (for iris), cornea, retina, crystalline humour, oculist, optics, optic glasses, glaucoma, cataract, squint, and wall eye. Most of the definitions and_"desor)..ptions were, at best, quaint and charming. Zeiss correction: In the "Dear Abbe!" article in the preceding issue, p. 8, I erroneously reported that both editions of Jena Review were mailed directly from the same address. I had presumed this from the published statements, but subsequent inspection of the mailing envelopes shows otherwise. The envelope for the "Aus Jena" edition shows the return address "DDR 69 JENA, Carl-Zeiss-Strasse 1," but the envelope for the "Zeiss Jena" edition shows the return address "Deutscher Buch-Export und -Import GmbH, DDR 1004 Berlin, Strasse der Partser Kommune 5-4." The Layard lens re-examined: "The oldest lens in the world" is the title of an article by Walter Gasson in the December 9, 1972, issue of The Ophthalmic Optician, Vol. 12, No. 24, pp. 1267 passim. Sometimes called the "Ninevah Lens", it was quite evidently excavated at Nimrud, some 20 miles south of Ninevah, although Assyriologist Sir Henry Austen Layard thought the site was Ninevah. The lens, or lentoid, is slightly oval in shape, 35 x 41 mm., plano-convex, with a center thickness of 6 mm., of slightly cloudy rook crystal, and probably shaped by a lapidary. Its purpose was quite evidently ornamental rather than optical, though its spherometrio measurements would give it a total power of four diopters in one meridian and eight diopters in the other meridian at approximately right angles. The lens is in the British Museum and is dated circa 900-700 B.C. -27- Nomenclature history: The development and adoption of the terms ophthalmic optician, optical appliance, and sight-testing in Britain are described briefly in an article entitled "THE MATI'ElR OF TERMS" by s. C. Hardy and w. El. Hardy in the January 11, 1973, issue of the Optometric Weekly, Vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 35-36. According to the authors the equivalent terms optometry and ophthalmic optics were independently adopted by the United States and Britain respectively as new designations at about the same time, around the turn of the century. Subsequent legislative and contractual developments in both countries have established their respectively adopted terms so firmly as to make further changes difficult. "It is quite wrong to infer that British opticians, either individually or collectively, dislike the designation 'optometrist'" say Messrs. Hardy. I doubt that we who routinely identify ourselves as optometrists can be said to reciprocate so understandingly. Antwerp opticianry in 1625: In the August 1972 issue of Photons, No. 65, p. 29, there is reproduced a painting by Sevastian Vrancx (1573-1647), a student of A. Van Noort, which features a spectacle vendor. The picture is a street scene at the Antwerp harbor. The vendor has a one-legged basket-like tray in which is displayed his merchandise, and he is holding a pair of glasses without temples in his right hand, apparently offering to sell them, though conceiveably he is offering to loan them to a prospective customer to use to examine the merchandise in the tray. It is not obvious whether the merchandise in the tray is an assortment of spectacles or of miscellaneous trinkets. Mr. Jean Thiriart, editor of Photons, recently gave me the negative of a photograph of the painting, from which I have had several prints made. The original painting hangs in the Massey Museum in Tarbes, France. ! 1952 opinion survey: Recently discovered in my file is an August 1, 1952, publication of the Vision Conservation Institute authored by Lawrence H. Foster, O.D. Included in the report are statistics on prevalence and duration of glasses wearing, professional origin of the prescriptions, basis for choosing type of practitioners, and familiarity with the terms oculist, ophthalmologist, optician, and optometrist. The survey was made by interview and planned by West-Marquis, Inc., Facts Consolidated, and VOl officers. The four page publication has been forwarded to the American Optometric Association Archives for permanent reference. VISIC responds: A simple search request to the Visual Science Information Research Center, School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, -cont'd- -28- California 94720, for publication references on 11 0ptometric, ophthalmic, and optical history" brought a startlingly fast response in the form of a list of 84 publications dated 1970 or later. Though 38 (45fo) of the listed publications originated in the u.s.A., a total of 12 countries were included. Publications of German origin totaled 22, British 12, Hungarian, Italian, and Polish two each, and Australian, Brazilian, Canadian, Chilean, Czech, and Swedish one each. Of optometric or ophthalmic-optical origin there were 38, of ophthalmological origin 32, and 14 others. Leading the list of authors was our own Sol Tannebaum with six articles. German ~uthor Werner Rentzsch, mentioned in a previous issue of the Newsletter, scored four, and tying with him were the co-authors Heinrich Honegger and Herbert Hessler of the Heidelberg University Eye Clinic. Membership recognition certificates? It has not seemed necessary for the Optometric Historical Society to issue membership certificates or cards, or at least no one has suggested that we do so. However, this is our fifth year of existence, and several have supported the society by their continuous membership since its inception in 1969. Perhaps an inexpensive five-year continuous membership plaque or certificate suitable for displaying in the office, study, or den would be a welcome gesture of appreciation. Comments would be appreciated. H. w. Hofstetter, Editor 1973-04-02-001 1973-04-02-002 1973-04-02-003 1973-04-02-004 1973-04-02-005 1973-04-02-006 1973-04-02-007 1973-04-02-008 1973-04-02-009 1973-04-02-010 1973-04-02-011 1973-04-02-012 1973-04-02-013 1973-04-02-014