NEWSLETTER OF THE OPTOMETRIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY (7000 Chippewa Street, Saint Louis, Missouri, U. Volume 4 October 1973 You, ~' .£.!!!_ be expert: -, j- ~h~, ~~~~];!.~~" " ..... ~;,· .~";~liUJ~~e:1_;y4 NQV l ~ 111 ;"1 .. _ .. ~.' l.fi ,,.; i ( ~ .: .. ;~ W'>t. ·.~~· ~ i Responding to my inquiry in the April issue of the Newsletter regarding people competent to date early spectacles, O.H.S. member E.J. (Ted) Fisher called attention to two useful references, one of which is "Fashions in Eye Glasses" by Richard Corson, published in 1967 by Dufour Editions, Inc. Chester Springs, Pennsylvania 19425. The other is the BRITISH OPTICAL ASSOCIATION LIBRARY and MUSEUM CATALOGUE, Compiled and Edited by John H. Sutcliffe, June 1932, London. Now, when someone brings in an old pair of spectacles and asks how old they are, you can tell him most authoritatively merely by matching them with one of the hundreds of illustrations of eyewear in each of these veritable atlases. In many instances you will be able to date the eyewear to within a decade and provide pertinent information about the design, function, popularity, and place of manufacture. Supplementing the illustrations of eyewear in Corson's book, still in print at $25.00, are several chapters on modes, attitudes, inventions, and development of each historical period and reproductions of numerous paintings, caricatures, photographs, and cartoons showing eyewear usage. Even the styles of the last decade are included. Incidentally, Professor Fisher also called attention to a new series of articles by John Cole entitled "Heritage" appearing in The Optician (London). The author delves into the formative past of ophthalmic optics by beginning with Vol. 1, No. 1 of The Optician dated April 2, 1891. The first two installments of his series appeared in the May 18 and June 1, 1973, issues, Vol. 165, Nos. 4280 and 4282, pp. 4 passim and 12-14, respectively. Thanks, Dr. Staiman: O.H.S. member Jacob Staiman, O.D., is a retired optometrist who for years has diligently been helping to develop the American Optometric Association library and museum with donations of books, instruments, eyeglasses, and valuable bits of historical information. His overseas travels are truly "hunting" expeditions in behalf of our heritage. His letters are a thrill to read. In a recent letter to Secretary Maria he reiterates a promise to visit the AOA headquarters during his 70th year to help with classification of museum items. He even sent us a current news clipping about a fabulous contemporary optometrist Dr. Isaac Taylor whom I shall comment on in a later issue. -46- Letter from Poland: . -- O.H.S. member B. Mrozinski, Optometryste, 85-950 Bydgoszcz 1, Skrytka pocztowa 35, Poland, who has one of the most complete collections of optical publications I have ever seen, wrote to suggest that we "make in our O.H.S. a register of all very old optical books which already belong to history and are in the library of our colleagues" so that we can know where they are. To make his point he enclosed typewritten copies of the title pages of the two oldest optical books in his possession, which are reproduced herewith. LA DIOPTRIQUE OCULAIRE 0 u LA TJIEORIQUE LA POSITIVE iT LA 1/lECI:ANIQUE D E L' 0 C U LA I R E D I 0 P T R Q U E EN TOUTES SES ESPECJ:S Par le Pere 0 I E R U B I N D' 0 R L E A N S, Capucin • A PARIS Chez { TI0140S JOLLY, au Palais } SIMON BEN:RD, xui s. Jacques aux Armes de Iollande lil. • DC • LX.XI AV E C P R I V I L E G E DU R 0 T. -47- OCULUS A R T I 7 I 0 I A L I S T E L E D I 0 P T R I C U S S IV I TELESCOPIOM EX Abditis rerum Naturalium & Artifioialium principiis protraotum nov& aethodo, eAque tolid& explioatum aooomprimis• tr1pl1c1 FUNDAMENTO PIISIOO ten NATURAL!, MA!IEUATIOO DIOPTRICO Ef MICHANICO, ten PBACTICO stal»111tua Opus ouriosum theor1oo-praot1oum magna rerum oarietate a4or.na~, omnibus Artium nova~ studiosie perquim utile: ~o Philoeophiae arque ~thes1 praeeertim mixtae,.neo non universo f!!~ hominum statui amplissimis adjumentis oonsulitur, nova plar abatrusa curiosa Teahnasmata reolunduntur, iptaque Ars Telescp1atr1a faoillimj addisoenda, ao sumptibus non a44\e magnia 1.n pr&Xin addu.oe.uta proponitu.r, adeoque TELESOOPIUitl ex tenebris in lueemasseritur. AUT.IORE JOANNE ZAIN FRANCO~CAROLOPOLITANO Saori & Candidi Ordinis Prae•onatratensis Canonico Regular! nee non Parthenonis Cellae intorioris ejusdem Ordinis prop• .lerbipolim PRAEPOSITO Edito seounda ~otior Cum racultate Super1erum NORIM:SERGAE Sumpthua JO.!ANNIS CJIRIS!OP.IOB.I LOCINERI .Bibl:lopolae Typis JO!ANNIS ERIISTI ADELBOLNERI. AnllO MDCCII -48- History in flames: A note from John W. Barrett, O.D., of Freeport, Illinois, states, " • in April 1955, my office was completely burned out in a fire which practically destroyed the six story building in which my office was located. • • . My records were all consumed at that time. What hurt me badly was that I had in my office at that time a historical record that I had kept of the Illinois Optometric Society since 1926. This was lost and could not be replaced. "I started practice here in Freeport in 1926 and practiced with my father for eleven years." And heritage in flames: It has come to our attention that the contents of the files of a recently deceased optometrist were disposed of, actually burned, in spite of the fact that he had expressed the wish that these be donated to the archives of his favori.te optometric association. It happens that he had served his association in numerous official capacities during the past half century and hence his papers undoubtedly included a wealth of hi.storical detail now utterly lost forever. This is by no means the first time that this has occurred, for the simple reason that our family survivors are all too often obsessed with the urge to "clean out the old man's trash and put the house in respectable order before the funeral march begins." Only a decade ago I wrote an editorial entitled "With Heritage in Hand" in the October 1964 issue of The Indiana Journal of Optometry, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 15-16, which bears reprinting here, as follows: "A few days ago I read of the death of an 86 year old optometrist who, from the dimensions of the write-up, must have been relatively unknown among the currently practicing optome­ trists of his city. He undoubtedly had retired 15 or 20 years ago during which period the great majority of our presently active optometrists entered the profession. The newspaper write-up said that, "he had practiced optometry for more than 50 years." "This optometrist was already 22 years of age at the turn of the century. It seems reasonable that he was, for all practical purposes, an optometrist before a single state had statutory registration. Had he made it an objective, he might have shaken hands with every president the A.O.A. has ever had. "There seems little doubt that, notwithstanding the impact of the invention of spectacles in the 13th century, the influence of the optical guilds in the 17th century, the blooming of visual science in the 19th century, to cite a feT; great land­ marks in optometric history, that the developments of our vision -49- care profession in the first half of the present century will long be marked as one of the most important and ex­ citing eras for optometry. It was highlighted by legislative battles, socio-economic struggles, inter- and intra-professional feuds, the establishment of modern institutions for optometric education, the evolution of ethics codes, etc., etc., etc. Yet, alas, the truly intimate and unedited facts of this very period are rapidly being buried or burned. This elderly optometrist who died just last week had personal memories of many details which some of us at best can only hope to glimpse dimly through intense study and critical evaluation. Surely among his personal effects were some letters that he may have received in his earlier days from Eberhardt, Prentice, Arrington, and conceivably even Helmholtz, or Chief Justice Hughes. Perhaps he had saved the spectacle prescription of an early U.S. President. After all, he could well have examined the eyes of Theodore Roosevelt, whose spectacle prescription is now unknown. Among his office effects might have been some class notes taken under a great optometric teacher, or a rare diploma from a now defunct optometry school, or a photograph of a graduating class, or of a local optometric society meeting. Perhaps in his files were a few issues of local society or state association newsletters, or even an issue or two of the A.O.A. Organizer, the predecessor of our present ~ournal of the A.O.A., which now seems to exist only as an historical note. "If he owned such rarities, they were undoubtedly tossed out within a day or two after his death, for not even the most thoughtful of survivors, lest they themselves be optometrists, could have a clue that such items are museum gems of optometricana. On numerous occasions I have contacted widows and survivors of deceased optometrists of advanced years as quickly as possible after hearing the sad news. So far I have had no acquisitional success whatsoever, for the reasons cited. "However, in instances when I have made a special personal effort to make contact with an optometrist while he still lived I have inherited a number of items which otherwise surely would have been destroyed or lost forever. "When these items can be snatched from the voracious trash collector, they can be placed with one's own effects for safe-keeping, at least for another career span. Or they can be given to another optometrist whose hobby makes him a zealous guardian of things like this. Or they might be given to one of the optometry schoolP that have museum programs. The important thing is the rescue; the disposition can be handled more leisurely and more delib­ erately. -50- "This is not written as a appeal for committee action, nor for the creation of a task force, or of a salvage drive. It is merely a reminder, albeit a grim one, that the heritage of the most recent era of optometry is yet within our grasp, and that the modest efforts of ever so few of us can yet assure its proper illustration in the pages of history." The "Invisible Academy": O.H.S. Secretary Maria Dablemont recently sent me a copy of an article by the late Dr. LeRoy Ryer entitled "A Few Odd Books" which appeared in the October 1923 issue of Optical Age, pp. 37-38 in which he listed, and commented on, some of his optometric favorites in his own library, as follows: Beare's "Greek Theories of Elementary Cognition" * T Koenigsberger's "Hermann von Helmholtz" * Newton's "Opticks" (1730) * T Smith's "A Compleate System of Opticks" (1738) * Zander's "The Ophthalmoscope" * Burch's "Physiological Optics" Sir Oliver Lodge's "Ether of Space" * Thompson's "Brain and Personality" Dander's "Accommodation and Refraction" * T Landolt's "Refraction and Accommodation" * In characteristic Ryerian style Dr. Ryer commented, "Although not organized and chartered there is an 'Invisible Academy' in existence at the present moment. You and I who ramble along these less frequented lanes are active members ... " First lady in military optometry: Carolyn G. Toewe, O.D., was the first woman to be commissioned as an optometrist in military service. She was commissioned in the Medical Service Corps of the U.S. Air Force in late 1951 or early 1952. This historical tidbit comes from the August 1973 OPTOMETRY PROGRESS REPORT of the DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, USAF SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE MEDICINE (AFSC), Brooks AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS 78235. ~tometric magic circa 1800: The program description of Act I of The Tales of Hoffmann presented by the Indiana University Opera Theatre, July - August 1973, reads as follows: "Hoffmann becomes the apprentice of Spalanzani, an eccentric physicist and inventor. He falls in love with Spalanzani's * Now in the American Optometric Association Library. T Reprints currently available. -51- 'daughter' Olympia, a clockwork doll fabricated by Spalanzani and by Coppelius, an optometrist specializing in the making of magic lenses. Through a pair of glasses which Hoffmann obtains from Coppelius, the doll appears alive to him in spite of Nicholas' warn~ngs. Spalanzani pays Coppelius for his partner­ ship in the doll's construction with a bad check. At a party, which Spalanzani gives to present his doll, Hoffmann convinces himself that Olympia returns his love. Coppelius swears to avenge himself for Spalanzani's betrayal: while dancing with Hoffmann, the doll spins out of control. Hoffmann's magic glasses break and Coppelius smashes the doll. Hoffmann collapses in sorrow and shame." Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, 1776-1822, was a German romantic poet and composer. A rare Walls document: THE VISUAL ACUITIES: FACTORS, THEORIES, PROBLEMS, is the title of a typed unpublished manuscript by Gordon L. Walls, Sc.D., in the Bausch & Lomb Co. Scientific Library. Though undated, it lists among its approximately 350 references at least one dated "1945, in press." At that time, Dr. Walls was affiliated with Bausch & Lomb. The first page is headed, "Ophthalmological Reviews, EDITED BY DR. FRANCIS HEED ADLER," followecl by the "INDEX." The text fills-207 pages followed by-the very complete bibliography, 23 pages of footnotes, and 34 figures, each with extensive explanatory legend. It is a "ready to publish" document in every detail. Why it was not published is undetermined. A Xerox copy has been placed in the American Optometric Association library. More ~ "Pop" Lubin: Following up comments on optometrist Sigmund Rubin in previous issues, Vol. 3, Nos. 3 and 4, July and October, 1972, pp. 31 and 37, O.H.S. member Earl Dablemont discovered four pages devoted to Rubin's role in the success of a 1914 movie, The Squaw Man. The book is Donald Hayne's The Autobiography of Cecil B. DeMille, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1949. The pages are:S9-92. The following brief excerpt tells us DeMille's appraisal of Lubin: "Why did Lubin do that kindness to three upstart rivals of the Trust of which he was a part? He could have sealed our ruin by keeping the solution of my blunder to himself. Did he see future business for his own photographic printing company in helping us? Perhaps-though the Trust generally saw no future whatever in feature plays. Looking back on ':op' Lubin, smiling -sa- at us, perhaps laughing at us just a little too, reassuring us, that fateful day in Philadelphia, I think the explanation Df his help is a very simple one, but is the one that a cynical view of human nature always looks for last. He was a good man. If we looked for that explanation of human conduct more often, we would be disappointed many times, yes; but we might also find, oftener than we imagine, that it is true." Old books wanted: "I am a collector of old books on optics, ophthalmology, and refraction. Would you please let my fellow OHS members know that I would like to buy any old texts that they might have for sale. "I would also like to let you know how much I enjoy reading the Newsletter. Cross memorial ~ revisited: Sincerely, "James Dember, O.D." (Box 572 Ft. Gulick, Canal Zone APO NY 09837) O.H.S. member Richard L. Hopping, O.D., President of Southern California College of Optometry, Fullerton, California, 92631, wrote Mrs. Dablemont as follows on July 18: "After the Congress in San Francisco, my family and I visited Muir Woods with the hope of locating the tree which had been dedicated to Dr. Andrew J. Cross. "Upon arrival at the National Park, the first two persons I contacted were unaware of the tree or Dr. Cross. I located the senior ranger who directed me to the location. Actually the tree site is not located within Muir Woods National MOnument. It is just over the boundary into Mt. Tamalpais State Park which is the park that engulfs Muir Woods. "Muir Woods National Monument was established on Jan. 9, 1908, and is administered by the National Park Service, u.s. Department of the Interior. The senior naturalist related that they no longer permit the dedication of trees. Within the 500 acres of Muir Woods, there are three memorial plaques. One is for Congressman William Kent who made the jift of the land to the Federal Government. Another memorial is for a man named Pinchot who, I believe, was a former governor of Calif.rnia. The third plaque was dedicated to Franklin Delano Roosevelt by a United Nations Conference Committee who toured Muir Woods. Dr. Cross's memorial is the only other plaque in the entire area. "The plaque read: -.sa- ANDREW J. CROSS 1855 - 1925 PIONEER IN OPTOMETRY "It appeared to be a bronze tablet , approximately 15x24 inches mounted on a large rock which was at least three feet across. It stands at the foot of a large (approximately 200 foot) redwood. "I took a number of colored photos which have not returned from the developer yet. The forest is so dense that little sunlight can get to the floor. I did not have a flash attach­ ment with me, so I am not too optimistic about the photos turning out. "In talking with the ranger, he related he would be interested in knowing more about Dr. Cross. If and when you get an opportunity, perhaps someone on your staff could assemble some material on Dr. Cross and send it to the park. Since so many people visit this park, it would be great public rela­ tions if the park personnel had proper background information on the great Dr. Cross. "Send whatever you can to: Supt., Muir Woods National Monument Mill Valley, California 94941 Attn: Mr. R. E. Jordan "Dr. Gregg informs me that the COA has revisited the site on several occasions. They undoubtedly have more information and photographs should your files not have them." The Pine Normulator: ----- Standing in the corner of the equipment room of the Indiana University Division of Optometry for several years was a black metal box about 13 X 21 X 28 em with knobs, dials, electrical connectors, and the nameplate on which was engraved "THE PINE NORMULATOR, manufactured by the Wottring Instrument Co., Amherst, Ohio, Model 7-B, Serial No. 1511, Patent No. 1840482." So what was it? An inquiry in our library brought forth a mimeographed manual of 37 pages entitled, "The PINE NORMULATOR Technic of MECHANO-THERAPY as applied to the Eye" by DR. HARRY E. PINE, F.A.A.O., D.O.S., Copyright in 1937 by THE WOTTRING INSTRUMENT CO. The instrument provides a pulsation of alternate pressure and vacuum through flexible tubes the ends of which can be applied to the closed eyelids as a form of massage. -54- Six classifications of cases which could be aided by the NORMULATOR are listed in the manual, with treatment instructions. Several pages deal with "The History and Development of EYE MASSAGE" in which credits and priorities are freely granted to the ancient Chinese, Hindoos, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Hippocrates, Asclepiades, Celsus, Galen, Sandwich Island natives, Maoris, natives of Tonga Island, Paracelsus, Swedish gymnasts, and numerous prominent physicians of later centuries. An inquiry sent to the U.S. Patent Office netted us a photocopy of Patent No. 1,840,482 dated January 12, 1932, for a SPEED GOVERNING MECHANISM by inventor Le Roy Wottring of Lorain, Ohio, and a request for remittance of 50¢. More archival acquisitions: Mrs. Ethel M. ("Peg") Wood, nee Page, has contributed three documents of historical interest to the American Optometric Association Archives. One is the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital annual report for the year 1931, a 68 page booklet with numerous photographs, statistics dating back to 1844, names of contributors with amounts contributed and a detailed statement of income and expenditure for the year 1931. Another is the 1903-04 prospectus of the Philadelphia Optical College, a 40 page booklet with photographs of personnel, facilities, diplomas, course descriptions, history of the school and a list of over 1,200 "Matriculates and Graduates." This was given to Peg Wood by an early New Zealand optome­ trist named Jean Hislop, then Mayor of Devenport, New Zealand, when Peg went to New Zealand with her husband. The third is a photocopy of an undated leaflet entitled "The 'Dobson' Concentrator" (Pro. Pat. 18102-33) which illustrates and describes the use of a binocular spectacle attachment which is adjustable for interpupillary distance and fits behind the lenses to block out all peripheral ambient light to minimize the "discomfort of 'dazzling' so often complained of by presbyopes, and those suffering from incipient cataract" and in the treatment of squint and amblyopia ex-anopsia. I wrote to The Patent Office, Kent, England, for a copy of the original patent. Their reply? " ... it is regretted that this number is 'abandoned', the Serial number has not been utilized and there is no published specification bearing this number." Peg was originally a nurse trained at the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital in 1926. She elected later to attend the School of Optics where Lionel Lawrence and Oscar Wood were lecturing. In 1972 she retired from the private practice of optometry in Auckland, New Zealand, to become a Visiting Clinical Instructor at the Indiana University Division of Optometry. This fall she accepted a similar appointment at the University of Waterloo (Canada) School of Optometry. The original C.L.O. Hospital became the Institute of Ophthalmology after World War II, she tells us. -55- OPTOMETRIC HISTORICAL COLLECTION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN BIRMINGHAM Grace Weiner* The library for the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama in Birmingham is an integral part of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences. This library is a new building dedicated in 1971 and located next to the site of the new optometry building now under construction. In addition to optometry, the library serves medicine, dentistry, nursing, and all other allied health professions. The Lister Hill Museum of the Health Sciences is located in the library. The optometry librarian is in the process of adding historical materials to the museum. Many gifts have been received but two optome­ trists have made outstanding contributions. Dr. Herbert P. McDonald, Jr. of Mobile, Alabama donated a framed copy of the first optometric license issued in Alabama. It was issued to his father on January 29, 1920. He also gave the museum the chair and retinoscope which his father used. Dr. Donald A. Springer of Anniston, Alabama, who is on the faculty of the School of Optometry, has also made notable contributions, one of which is a folding hand valise which was used by his father when traveling about the state of Alabama prior to 1920. In ~valise were testing instruments, reading charts, trial lenses, and spectacles to be dispensed. It also contained a document filed in the probate judge's office in Coosa County, Alabama, December 21, 1920. This document identified the bearer as being of good moral character and qualified to practice optometry and was used by the practitioner to present to people who might question his qualifications. Dr. Springer says "I still see people in my office who recall my father coming to their homes and examining their parents' or grandparents' eyes." The collection includes a Feinbloom scleral contact lens trial case given by Dr. Springer. Dr. Henry Peters, Dean of the School of Optometry, donated a trial case which he purchased in Amsterdam in 1971. Other contributions include old spectacles, retinoscopes, and trial frames. Any optometrist who has materials which he would like to donate should get in touch with me. I would also like to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to see the collection to visit the museum, as well as the School of Optometry and the library. *Mrs. Grace Weiner, Visual Science Librarian Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences University Station Birmingham, Alabama 35294 -56- History of optic chiasma theory: "An Historical Review of the Theories on the Function of the Optic Chiasma" is the title of a sophisticated article by Edward R. Seefelt, O.D., in the April 1973 issue of the Journal of the American Optometric Association, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 416-423. Apotropaia and sonnets: Riichi Iwasaki, whose hobby of collecting amuletic and talismanic eye symbols was mentioned in our January issue, page 10, has published a paper entitled, "The Precious Eye" in the July 26, 1973, Optometric Weekly, Vol. 64, No. 30, pp. 30-32. One part of the article reviews the role of the eye in Egyptians legend; another part relates to the frequence of appearance of the word "eye" in Shakespeare's sonnets, 90 times in 49 poems. Berkeley (1685-1753) on vision: Recently brought to my attention is a 1963 publication which presents in one volume George Berkeley's three accounts of vision - the Essay, the account given in the fourth dialogue of Alciphron, and Visual Language, plus his summary of the theory from his Principles. The book also includes an extensive commentary and profuse footnoting by the editor, Professor of Philosophy Colin Murray Turbayne. WORKS ON VISION is published by Bobbs-Merrill Company and is still in print at $6.00. I must confess that philosophical discussions of how we see, whether by Berkeley or by those who interpret Berkeley, try me for fatigue. Devious and fragmented threads of argument quickly cool my senses and reduce me to a feeling of intellectual inadequacy. Nevertheless, even a cursory perusal of this book induces a fascination for the frustrations and struggles of hard-thinking persons trying to interpret visual phenomena only 250 years ago. Consider, for example, Berkeley's statement, "Now, for any object to contain several distinct parts, and at the same time to be a minimum visibile, is a manifest contradiction. " If this intrigues you, you will enjoy reading the book. Electronic optometric history: Audio-visual recording of interviews with older persons who have observed much of the development of the optometry profession in this century is being undertaken by faculty members of the University of California School of Optometry, Berkeley, California. Faculty coor­ dinator for the project is Professor Anthony Adams. So reports O.H.S. member Carel C. Koch in his monthly column in the May 1973 issue of the American Journal of Optometry ~ Archives of American Academy of Optometry, Vol. 50, No. 5, p. 432. Such indications of the expanding interest in optometric history since the founding of the Optometric Historical Society suggests that our efforts may at least have been partly responsible. Whether we can take some of the credit or not, the trend is most gratifying. -57- Memorial list grows: Doctor David.~ Martin Memorial Fund (Illinois College of Optometry). Dr. Rudolph H. Ehrenberg Memorial Classroom (Illinois College of Optometry) • - The Ernest ~ Kiekenapp Memorial Library (American Optometric Association) • The John~ Crozier Memorial Award (Pennsylvania College of Optometry). The George Giles Research Trust in Scotland. According to Honorary O.H.S. member Mrs. Ivy N. Giles, in a letter dated August 6, this memorial is presently being established "for an annual research grant to a Scottish optician or a Scottish optical student. We shall pass over a substantial sum of money to the Trust which the Trust, as a Charity, will be able to invest to bring in the highest return, and thus, we hope will mean an annual research grant in perpetuity." The ~George Nielsen Memorial Fund. On August 24 Mr. William B. O'Rourke, Administrative Director, Colorado Optometric Association, sent us the following details: "Organization of the C. George Nielsen Memorial Fund, a non-profit educational and research fund, has been announced by the fund president, Dr. Steven Gorden of Denver. "The fund honors Dr. C. George Nie.lsen, a Denver optometrist, who died May 23, 1972. At the time of his death Dr. Nielsen was a Trustee of the Colorado Optometric Association and director of the Association Department of Continuing Education. "The fund idea was developed because of Dr. Nielsen's long­ standing interest in optometric continuing education and a number of innovative changes developed by him for the staging of Colorado optometric continuing education. "The current concept for the fund is one of endowing an annual lecture by a top educator or researcher in optometry. "Lectures are to be presented annually in conjunction with the Colorado Association's annual contact lens seminar and are to be presented without charge. Any licensed optometrist may attend. "Funds for the endowment have come from gifts of money made by friends of Dr. Nielsen and the Colorado Optometric Association. "Dr. Nielsen, who was 55 at the time of his death, was a highly popular leader in community as well as optometric affairs in Colorado. -58- "Born in November, 1918, he graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1949. He passed the Colorado Board in 1949 and entered practice that same year. At the time of his death he was associated in practice with Dr. Gorden. "Office·rs and trustees of the Fund, in addition to Dr. Gorden, are M. Bernice Nielsen, Dr. Wendell Bryan, Jr., Dr. Robert F. DeLamorton, and Dr. Claude S. Slocum." The Joseph~ Babcock Archives. Initiated by a monetary contribution from the Ohio Optometric Association in memory of Joseph M. Babcock, O.D., the Babcock Archives at the American Optometric Association headquarters are shaping up into one of the most complete period resources in optometry. The final shipment of cartons of filed papers was recently made by O.H.S. member Mrs. Babcock, Lucille, who has been painstakingly putting the material into usable order and preparing a detailed inventory. This turned out to be a formidable task because the files were immersed in floodwaters. Each sheet of paper had to be separated from the wet mass and dried in an oven. Only Lucille could do this intelligently, as she had been Joe's secretary throughout his years of organizational participation in optometry at the local, state, and national level. If you ever had correspondence with Joe Babcock, you can be very sure your letter is now filed in the archives. Otto Engelmann memoirs: On November 18, 1963, O.H.S. member Otto R. Engelmann, O.D., wrote a nine-page double-spaced letter to the late Dr. Ernest Kiekenapp describing a variety of incidents of his own personal involvement in optometry's early development in America. Recently, on June 30, Dr. Engelmann sent me his file copy of the letter, as he is cleaning out his files in preparation for retirement in Florida. My first impulse was to reprint the letter here in toto. After two or three readings, however, I decided merely to forward it to the American Optometric Association Archives, thus making it permanently accessible to researchers in optometric history together with other documents dealing with the same half-century. Editors make decisions like this and find it difficult to explain them. The letter touches on many incidents and personalities vivid and meaningful to optometrists of the period. Examples include the use of the Masonic Temple in Chicago as the first home of the Northern Illinois College of Optometry; experiences in 1917-19 as the first to be placed as an optometrist in the Army, at the U.S. Army Base Hospital at Camp Grant, Illinois; the resolution adopted by the Illinois Jewelers Association in support of the bill to license optometrists in Illinois in 1919; the "silver tongued orator" Dr. Augustine; 30 years as Public Relations Chairman of the Illinois Optometric Associatio~; the organi~ zation of the Chicago (now the Illinois) Woman's Auxiliary; battles with the optical manufacturers on advertising philosophy; his examination -59- of a cross-eyed orangutan in Lincoln Park Zoo, a publicity stunt which was photographed and written up in newspapers and magazines all over the U.S.A. and displayed in the hall of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago for many years; the last minute scuttling of an optometry exhibit prepared for the Century of Progress Exhibition in 1933; the widely distributed "Know Your Doctor" folder; the "Optometry on Trial" articles in the Reader's Digest; the aborted participation of optometrists in the grand opening of Rogers Park Community Hospital; anti-discrim­ ination battles with the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness; and even the Chicago gangsters' attempts to shake down optometrists in the early '30's. In the process of cleaning out his office files Dr. Engelmann thoughtfully has sent us bits arid pieces of documents, correspondence, and clippings which relate to the intensive, indeed often vicious, conflict between the medical and optometric contingents of the ophthalmic field in the '30's in the Chicago area. Surely, if a thoroughly analytical historian ever attempts to review the episode, these contributions will have tremendous documentary value. They are being forwarded to the American Optometric Association Archives for safe keeping. Upon completing the writing of the preceding paragraph I received another packet from Otto, correspondence relating to the inflammatory August 15, 1963, issue of Der Ausenspiegel, Zeitschrift fUr den Deutschen Augenarzt, Vol. 9, No. 8. Most of this issue consisted of an editorial and two articles on optometry in the U.S.A. Another packet from Otto included a copy of OFFICERS, COMMITTEES, BOARDS AND DELEGATES FOR 1936, North Shore Post No. 21, The American Legion, in which Dr. Engelmann is listed as the "Optometrical Officer" for REHABILITATION. In an accompanying memorandum, he pointed out that his was the first and perhaps the only such appointment, as "all Legion Posts soon thereafter dropped the appointment of medical, dental, and optometric officers." He added, "In 1936 North Shore Post 1121 had over 1000 members." In the same organization roster Dr. Engelmann is listed also as a member of the School Awards Committee for AMERICANISM, of the committee for COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, and of the conmrl.ttee for LEGION UNIFORMS. Term papers due: Following are the instructions to students enrolled in the Optometric History course at Indiana University during the fall semester of 1973-74: "Each student will be required to submit a term report on some historical aspect of optometry relating to the second half of the 18th century, the period during which our nation was founded and which will be of special interest during our a~proaching bi-centenary celebration in 1976. This may relate to a person of historical -60- significance, an invention, a concept, a custom, a fad, a trend, a policy, an event, spectacle design or styling, or any other topic of optometric interest. Information may be gleaned from period publications, literature, photographs, paintings, statistics, correspondence, diaries, museums, historical archives, conference minutes, commercial documents, etc., but with all resources properly and fully identified, including their location. It is strongly recommended that the report be confined to an extremely specific topic of single detail. Even a systematic search which fails to uncover positive evidence may be considered a contribution toward our appreciation of the state of optometric or preoptometric development circa 1776. "The paper may be written in the style of an article for publication, whence its length should be compatible with publication requirements, or it may be written in the form of a personal letter to an editor or to an official of an historical society." Post bellum optometry: The following is a letter to the editor of the January 1900 issue of The Optical Journal, Vol. 7, No. 1, p. 81: "ENTITLED TO A PENSION. "I am now 67 years old and have sold spectacles since I was 17 except while I was in the army of '61 to '65; have taken much pains and read up the best authors obtainable. Have studied the eye so much that I can fit any normal eye by simply looking into same. I used to travel extensively over the country selling spectacles and eyeglasses, examining eyes, etc., so that now at my age and with such long experience I have become expert in my business and feel that the optical society of some of the Eastern States ought to count me as an honorary member without any great expense, as I am a poor pensioner and much crippled. I like the Optical Journal very much and feel that I cannot get along without it, as it gives me much useful information on the subject in hand. I am amused at times to have parties drop in my office (or shop), pick up the hand optometer and try their own eyes in order to find the number so they can go to some ten cent counter hardware or drug store where is kept cheap spectacles and try to fit themselves by the inch measure, but they always get badly fooled, both in quality and fit, as my optometer is numbered in French and in such a manner that I figure therefrom when I don't use other tests. But such is life and opticians should always be careful to keep their tests a secret unless well paid for the same. "Yours fraternally, "S. C. Ferguson. "Hay Springs, Ner." H. W. Hofstetter, Editor 1973-04-04-001 1973-04-04-002 1973-04-04-003 1973-04-04-004 1973-04-04-005 1973-04-04-006 1973-04-04-007 1973-04-04-008 1973-04-04-009 1973-04-04-010 1973-04-04-011 1973-04-04-012 1973-04-04-013 1973-04-04-014 1973-04-04-015 1973-04-04-016