(243 North 

Vol. 15 

Optometry Lillrary 
Jert1cal File 

NEWSLETTER 
OF THE 

OPTOMETRIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY ~~TflMHRV 1.18RARY 
Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63141, U.S.A.) 

April 1984 NumberMAY 14 1984 

NOlANA UNIVEHSil Y 
This is one of the shortest issues of NOHS. It will therefore 

not be a burden to read. The explanation for its brevity is simple. 
When I pulled the O.H.S. folder out of my file I found that considerably 
less than the usual number of prepared items had accumulated during 
the last three months. 

Because I include virtually every accumulated item of interest 
in each quarterly issue, some issues are long and some are short. I 
do not retain a backlog of prepared material for subsequent issues. 
Therefore it is quite possible that the occasion may come when a 
single-page issue will result. The shortest to date is the first 
number of 1971, two pages. 

What determines the number of items that are accumulated? The 
answer to this is also simple. I have no production plan or prep­
aration schedule other than an assumed deadline a few days prior to 
the firsts of January, April, July, and October. The deadline may 
vary slightly when I am committed to an out-of-town engagement in the 
last week of December, March, June, or November. Each accumulated 
item therefore is one prepared more or less immediately upon my 
receipt of a letter, document, tearsheet, clipping, announcement, 
picture, or other article of historical interest from someone like 
yourself, or upon my coming across a point of optometric historical 
significance in my own rather haphazard day-to-day exposure to 
periodicals, books, brochures, social contacts, exhibitions, displays, 
etc. Mostly my findings are the result of a kind of continuous 
alertness, or history sensitivity, an attribute which is somewhat 
less finely tuned during basketball season and tax return preparation 
time. 

Most such promptings are gratifying and stimulating. The 
frustrating ones are items with no clue whatsoever as to origin, 
date, circumstance, maker, or creditable source of reference. I do 
not give up easily. Three libraries that I use frequently for 
documentation purposes and leads are the Indiana University Library 
System, our local Monroe County Public Library, and the International 
Library, Archives, and ~1useum of Optometry, Inc. Supplementary 
correspondence, interlibrary loans, and other forms of communication 
sometimes involve weeks or months of patience, which I do try to 
exercise. 

Immediately, or eventually if there are necessary delays, I 
prepare, edit, or myself compose each newsletter entry in rough 
form in painful longhand. A day or two later a typist puts it into 
legible double-spaced, easily correctable, form. Upon rereading it 
I typically make a few minor revisions and grammatical changes. If 



- 32 -

it s~ill seems to be of historical significance and of possible 
interest to a historically minded person I file it in my O.H.S. 
folder and place it temporarily out of mind, even out of memory. 

• · ".'L· ;,',I''Abbut a week before the next aforementioned quarterly deadline, 
usually on a Friday, I take the O.H.S. folder home and pore through 
the accumulated items, especially to check occasional redundancies, 
revise uninterpretable expressions, and eliminate split infinitives, 
dangling participles, and my Germanic excess of adverbs. Once in 
a great while I discard an item at this stage as entirely too 
insignificant and dull. However, if I think even one reader will 
appreciate the item, it stays. 

Then I select a lead item or, as in this instance, write one. 
Next I identify two or three short entries which lack timeliness 
and arrange them at the end of the series to be held for a subsequent 
issue if the total paging comes out grossly uneven. The remaining 
items, the great majority, are then placed in essentially random 
sequence in between. I have not formulated any logical basis for 
their sequence, merely because I cannot think of any. 

The typist then types up the newsletter master sheet according 
to some style instructions which I prepared quite empirically many 
years ago. 

Oh yes, I do reread the whole thing once again in what is 
almost invariably the final form. On one or two occasions I have 
indulged in some rearranging at this stage by cutting and pasting, 
mainly because two incidentally complementary items ought to have 
been nearer each other. The only pleasure I get at this editorial 
stage is the occasional discovery of a typographical error. If I 
find many typos it is not a pleasure. 

That is 
issue unless 
My immediate 
next issue. 

normally the last time I will read any part of each 
a month or more later a reader writes me about an entry. 
response is usually the preparation of an item for the 
That is how this serial continues. Now you know. 

William Jerome Heather, 0.0., 1894-1984: 

Known to thousands of optometrists by personal contact, the 
la,te "Jere" Heather will long remain a legend in the memories of 
even thousands more. His annual lectures to the graduating classes 
of every American optometry school for many years during the fifties 
were classic, remembered especially for his suitcase full of big 
wooden varicolored blocks which he used to portray certain principles 
of professional optometric economics. For several years he was a 
member of the Optometric Historical Society, and his name is recorded 
at least six times in our annals. 



- 33 -

OHS member Andrew Fischer suggested that memorial notice of 
Jere's passing should be in this newsletter. Indeed, it should, 
but one can hope that a detailed obituary will appear in a more 
broadly distributed journal in due time, as Dr. Heather's many 
faceted personality represented so much more than history. He was 
a symbol of the contemporary optometric era. 

What we can accomplish more effectively in terms of our OHS 
objectives is the inclusion of personally remembered experiences 
in future issues of the N.O.H.S. as they may have involved Dr. Heather. 
OHS members and other readers are invited to sit down immediately 
to pen a paragraph or two or more to relate what they (you!) remember 
as a Heather contribution to, or involvement in, optometry's history. 

Do so before you forget! 

John Reuben Levene, 192~-1983: 

A glowing obituary by Dr. Mark R. Flora and a personal eulogy 
in the form of a letter to the editor by Dr. Philip A. La Haye serve 
to memorialize the late John Levene in the December 1983 issue of 
the American Journal of Optometric Medicine, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 98-102 
and 103-104 respectively. Included is a picture of Dr. Levene, who 
is credited, among numerous other roles, as a prime figure in the 
optometric medicine movement. 

Also announced as an editorial footnote is the establishment 
of the John R. Levene Memorial Fund at the Southern College of Optometry 
where D~evene served as the Dean of the Faculty. 

A~ early correspondence course: 

The now presumably defunct Philadelphia Optical College flourished 
notoriously for several decades as a correspondence course leading to 
a mail-order doctorate degree. Circumstantially gullible were many 
optometrists and would-be optometrists outside of the U.S.A. who could 
not know the long inadequate control of educational standards in 
variously chartered American institutions. Thus, as illustrated in 
the example below, we find that even as recently as 1954, long after 
the demise of its founder, Dr. 'c.H. Brown, the "chartered" college was 
carrying on a grossly outmoded correspondence course for many an inter­
national subscriber. 

One such subscriber was Alfredo Horta Coronel, a Spanish-speaking 
optometrist in Lima, Peru. He kindly sent me copies of 12 of 26 lessons 
and examinations which he had diligently completed in English in 1954 
and which were graded and returned to him with mostly A's and a few B's. 



MAILED 
: l'):r\ 

.......... L'~~i .. ~- ...... . 
ANSWF.Il QUESTION~ IN ISK 

ON TillS SIIEET. 
ANS\V.:R FROM M~:MORY--IlO 
NOT COPY FROM n:xT JIOOK 

- 34 -

Matriculation N~. 

Peraonal Extension Course 

LESSON No. X. Numbering of Lenses. 

Examin~d and AJ'provr•l 

,l \0 ~- ·'· ~-:-. ~.-( +.. 0 0 0 0 

Averare "''" ......... ~ 
........ ~ .........•••. 

·The transition prriml in th.e nomenclature of the numhrring or" lenses i~ ewer. an<l 
we note the pas~ing of thr old inrh system, and the adoption of the newer· and hrttl'r Di,,p. 
'tric System. This adds tn the difficulty of the subject, hrcause the optometrist must have 
knowledge of both systems, and a clear understanding of the method of converting one into 
the other. 

The handling and prescribing of lcns<'s heing the optometrist's chief work. it i~ ju-t 
as essential for him to comprehend the Syst<·m hy which they are J;:rnund anti tlu·ir rr· 
fraC"tive power or focal distance measured, as it is to he familiar with their proper adjust· 
m~~ . 

1efly • E'ICamination Paper No. 10 Write Plainly. 

.:~~~"':::1'<{y !&- ~.~~UA-, 
-£t~pon what d.:e::(Z: ~l;c~ 7~ ~· 

..ACG6'J~~ . .to ,t:/~ !Unci, ~ ~ f_t/uJ:_. .iA ~Uk-t., . 
vary? 



- 35 -

Lesson No. X is shown here, selected partly because it was the most 
legibly reproduced copy but also because it is implicitly dated by 
identification with the .. transition period in the nomenclature of 
the number of lenses, .. which had occurred at least three quarters of 
a century before 1954. 

The 12 lessons and examinations which Dr. Horta sent me are as 
follows: 

Lesson I. Anatomy of Eye questions 1-25 

Lesson II. Mechanism of the Eye questions 26-50 

Lesson III. Physiology of Vision questions 51-75 

Lesson IV. Dioptrics of the Eye questions 76-100 

Lesson v. Laws of Light questions 101-125 

Lesson VI-VI I I. (missing) 

Lesson IX. Further Study of Lenses questions 201-225 

Lesson X. Numbering of Lenses questions 226-250 

Lesson XI. Presbyopia questions 251-275 

Lesson XI I-XXI I. (missing) 

Lesson XXII I. Method of Examination questions 551-575 

Lesson XXIV. The Ophthalmometer questions 575-600 

Lesson XXV. Theoretic Optics questions 601-625 

Lesson XXVI. Theoretic and Practical questions 625-650 
Optometry 

In the prefatory remarks fo.r the lessons and examinations the 
only references specifically recommended were the two volumes of 
Dr. C.H. Brown's 11 0ptometrist~·. Manual 11 or 11 0pticians' Manual .. 
published at the turn of the century. Otherwise it was occasionally 
suggested that the student consult .. standard books" on a given topic, 
or simply 11 0ther test books" and "cyclopedias". 



. - 36 -

In spite of the abuses attributable to the later owners of 
the "chartered" college, it must be said that those who seriously 
followed through on the lessons and did indeed study Brown's 
remarkably solid books of the day must have benefited. I daresay, 
for example, that there may be several practitioners today who 
would have considerable difficulty solving questions 234 and 235. 
Or even "o mejor," as Dr. Horta inadvertently expressed himself 
in his own language in answer to no. 235. 

The Lione~ Topaz Memorial Library: 

Lionel Topaz (1875-1942) was born in Russia, emigrated to 
England at the age of 22, and to America at the age of 28. He 
married in 1904, graduated from the Northern Illinois College of 
Optometry in 1905, and started The Optomet~~ Weekly in 1910. He 
founded The Professional Press in 1919 to edit and publish several 
ophthalmological, optical, and optometric journals and books. 
Upon his death in 1942 his children Mae, Oscar, and Martin Topaz 
made a substantial permanent endowment to the Sheard Foundation 
for Education and Research in Vision of The Ohio State University 
to assist in the development of.a visual science library, especially 
to recognize the close friendship which existed for many years 
between their father and Charles Sheard. 

The high regard in which Lionel Topaz was held by his contem­
poraries is documented by the pages of testimony from dozens of 
nationally prominent figures in the two issues of )he Qptometric. 
Wee~ll immediately following his death, Vol. 33, Nos. 25 and 26, 
July 30 and August 6, 1942, pp. 693-696 and 734-737. 

~Sigmund Lubin, "O.D.": 

In at least four previous issues of this Newsletter optometrist 
Sigmund Lubin has been mentioned as a prominent figure in the 
motion picture industry. A recently received flyer of the National 
Museum of American Jewish History includes a picture with the 
caption, "Lubin's daylight studio in Philadelphia was a flagship 
of his giant film company in 1912." Also received was a press 
release headlined EXHIBITION RECREATES LOST WORLD OF FILMMAKER 
LUBIN which reads as follows: 

The early days of the motion picture industry will be 
the focus of a major exhibition, PEDDLER OF DREAMS: SIGMUND 
LUBIN AND THE CREATION OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY, 
scheduled to open May 23 and to run through December, 1984, 
at the Museum of American Jewish History in the heart of 
historic Philadelphia. 



- 37 -

Rare Lubin film footage, posters, photographs, costumes 
and other artifacts, supplemented by the personal reminiscences 
of those who knew and worked with Lubin, will be used to 
recreate the lost world of early filiiiTiaking "when Hollywood 
was in Philadelphia," and to trace the career of film pioneer 
and movie mogul "Pop" Lubin. The Museum is continuing to 
seek additional artifacts and information for this exhibition, 
and those with memories to share or artifacts to loan should 
contact Deenah Loeb, assistant curator, at the Museum of American 
Jewish History, Independence Mall East, 55 N. 5th St., Philadelphia, 
PA 19106; (215) 923-3811. 

A young immigrant who came to America in 1876 to seek his 
fortune, Lubin came to be known as "the Rockefeller of the Movies." 
At the start of his career, Lubin was a skilled and highly successful 
optometrist who listed President Grant among his clients. In 
1896, he began to experiment with lenses of a different sort--with 
"Life Motion Pictures" and projectors--and by 1904 had established 
one of the world's most extensive networks for the manufacture, 
distribution and exhibition of motion pictures. 

Before World War I, the Lubin studios at Twentieth Street 
and Indiana Avenue in Philadelphia and at the Betzwood Estate 
near Valley Forge were among the largest, most technologically 
advanced in the world. Thousands of films poured from these and 
other studios which Lubin established in Jacksonville, Florida, 
Phoenix, Arizona, Newport, Rhode Island and San Diego and Los 
Angeles, California. Among the still-remembered stars to appear 
in Lubin films were comedian Oliver Hardy, Marie Dressler, the 
famed Jacob Adler and the notorious Evelyn Nesbit Thaw. A tragic 
film vault explosion in 1914 destroyed all of Lubin's films, and 
in the process, virtually burned the Lubin studios from the pages 
of history. 

The exhibition at the Museum of American Jewish History is 
co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Free Library's Theatre Collection, 
Lubin Archive, and is being developed by the Museum in cooperation 
with Lubin archivists and biographers Joseph Eckhardt and Linda 
Kowall. 

The planned honors for Lubin were mentioned also in a news item 
of August 10, 1983, issue of Variety, page 6, which included the 
following paragraphs: 

In a little known footnote to Hollywood history, Lubin 
became the man who saved the "Squaw Man" for Cecil B. DeMille. 
After running into rain in Phoenix, DeMille brought the production 
to the west coast where it became the first shot in Hollywood. 
However, when the film was completed, DeMille and producers 
Sam Goldwyn and Jesse Lasky were shocked to see the images dancing 
crazily upon the screen. 



- 38 -

Goldwyn, then an upstart in the industry, took a reel 
of the film to the well-established Lubin who quickly spotted 
the trouble and showed Goldwyn how to fix it by pasting on 
new strips of perforations to match projector sprockets. 

N.S.P.B. Diamond Anniversary: 

The National Society to Prevent Blindness dates its founding 
in the year 1908. It was started in New York City by Louisa Lee 
Schuyler and F. Park Lewis, M.D .. 

The Indiana Society to Prevent Blindness celebrated the national 
organization's diamond jubilee with a gala dinner and a review of 
its own history as the first state affiliate. Among the participating 
patrons were our own O.H.S. Vice President J.J. Abrams, O.D., and 
Mrs. Abrams. 

The Indiana group was formed in 1950 and affiliated with the 
national organization as the "Indiana Committee of the National 
Society for the Prevention of Blindness." Among its founders were 
Mrs. Maude Ward, Mr. Thomas C. Hasbrook, and Mrs. Eugene C. Pulliam. 
The first statewide meeting was on October 17, 1951. Charter members 
included optometrists John Davey and Robert Tubesing, with Henry 
Hofstetter added upon his arrival in Indiana in 1952. In 1956 the 
committee was chartered as a chapter with the title Indiana Society 
for the Prevention of Blindness, later changed to Indiana Society 
to Prevent Blindness, its present title. · 

The Indiana group takes significant credit for a wide variety 
of eye-saving projects throughout the state, including three 
additions to Indiana state law. One is a mandatory visual test 
of all school children in certain grades. Another is the visual 
test for an Indiana driver's license, and a third was a requirement 
that eye glasses be made shatterproof. 

The I.S.P.B. offices are located at 1425 East 86th Street, 
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240. 

Jena, an ophthalmic optical birthplace.: 

By no means the earliest optometry school, but one which 
mcfy have had the greatest single international academic impact 
during optometry's emergence from handicraft status, is the optometry 
school founded in Jena, Germany (now East Germany), in 1918. The 
city of Jena itself, located on the Saale River and nestled in 
the hills at the wooded fringe of the Harz mountains, has a long 
optical history as the former world center for lens-making. It was, 
and still is, a major center for the manufacture of optical instru­
ments and glass. The first planetarium was built there, and some of 



- 39 -

the greatest names in ophthalmic lens technology, Abbe, Zeiss, Henker, 
and others, did their research here. The Jena Optical Museum may 
be the world's most complete collection in ophthalmic optics. The 
long famous German student organization, Burschenschaft, had its 
origin in Jena in 1815 at the university founded there in 1588. The 
town still has remains of its original fortifications, an 11th century 
church, and a 14th century town hall, and is mentioned in 9th century 
records. Jena was the scene of the famous victory of Napoleon over 
Prussian and Saxon armies on October 14, 1806. 

Probably the earliest sketch of the town is an engraving print 
in the Deutschen Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (East Germany) which is 
recopied in miniature below. It is reduced from a New Year's greeting 
card received from O.H.S. member Dr. Gunter Ueberschaar, Director of 
Studies at the "Fachschule fur Augenoptik 'Hermann Pistor' Jena" and 
his colleague Oskar Kiel, the Administrative Head. 

g~ the labeling of colors: 

The relative rarity of words designating colors in early and 
primitive languages is frequently noted. In that connection etymologist 
Robert Devereux of Falls Church, Virginia, points out that we have at 
least borrowed words from the American Indians to denote certain colors. 
The following is quoted from his article "More Than Just Manitou" on 
pages 5-6 of the Winter, 1984, issue of VERBATIM, The Language Quarterly, 
Vol. 10, No. 3: "There are at least four Amerind loanwords that 
denote color. The first is persimmon, an Algonquian word, akin to 
Cree pasiminon 'dried fruit,' and Delaware pasimenon. The word is 
relatively well known as the name of a fruit, but it also denotes a 
moderate reddish-orange color that is yellower and duller than crab­
apple or flamingo, or a strong brown that is redder and deeper than 
average russet and duller than rust. The other three color terms are 



- 40 -

tribal names that have been pressed into English service as color 
names: 

ca_tawba, a very dark to blackish red and, of textiles, a dark 
purplish red that is bluer and paler than dahlia purple and 
bluer and duller than pansy purple. 

mohawk, a Tuscan brown. 

navaho, a strong to vivid orange that is redder and darker than 
orpiment orange and slightly redder and darker than Big Four 
yellow 11 

Who was Captain Chester Knowles? 

In occasional reminiscing I have mentioned the fact that in 
about 1938 while I was an optometry student at The Ohio State 
University a visiting lecturer who was introduced to my class as 
Captain Knowles gave a talk and 'demonstration of contact lenses. 
A few of us tried on a lens and were happy to remove it quickly. 
I can remember no more about the occasion except that we understood 
that Captain Knowles made similar presentations of the primitive 
state of the art in several optometry schools. 

Recently O.H.S. member Dan Hummel told me that the Captain's 
first name was Chester and that he had studied under the guidance 
of Dr. Wm. Feinbloom. He could not give me any further details 
about the man from memory though he hopes he may find something 
in his files. 

Morris Steinfeld, O.D., 1877-1964_: 

One who helped to organize the American Academy of Optometry 
and who initiated the first Academy meeting was Dr. Morris Steinfeld, 
a Paducah, Kentucky, optometrist. His picture and a few highlights 
of his career are published in the July 1983 issue of the American 
Journal of Optometry and Physiological Optics, Vol. 60, No. 7, page 
644, authored by O.H.S. President James P. Leeds, O.D., with the 
assistance of Steinfeld's son Maurice, an optometrist too. 

Je~ish involvement cited: 

O.H.S. member Israel Dvorine, O.D., authored a paper on 
11 0ptometry 11 in the June 1983 issue of Generation, Vol. 4, No. 1, 
pp. 41-47. Generation is a semi-annual publication of the Jewish 
Historical Society of Maryland. 

Dr. Dvorine traces optometry's Jewish connection back to the 
era of Spinoza, the philosopher and lens grinder. 



- 41 -

A biography entitled "Joseph Le Conte, Gentle Prophet of Evolution" 
by L.D. Stephens, Louisiana State University Press, 1982, was reviewed 
by Dr. Jay M. Enoch as a historical vignette in the December 1983 
issue of the American Journal of Optometry ~nd Physiological Optics, 
Vo 1. 60, No. 13, p. 1003. 

Some of our readers will recall that Le Conte•s own 1881 book 
entitled "Sight" was reviewed in the January 1973 issue of N.O.H.S., 
Vol. 4, No.1, pp. 67. 

Dean Enoch tells us that "Each year, the graduating students of 
the School of Optometry at the University of California, Berkeley, 
line up on the steps of the entrance to the John and Joseph Le Conte 
Building on our campus for their class picture, before marching to 
the commencement exercise. This has been a tradition of the School, 
which had its origin in the attic of that building in 1923." 

Optometrists in community leadership: 

Much of the history of individual optometric personalities is 
recorded only in local newspapers, possibly because optometric practice 
is typically a service which by its nature tends almost exclusively 
to be local in its application. So, one repeatedly finds optometrists 
prominent in local community and civic affairs above and beyond their 
professional roles yet relatively unknown nationally or internationally. 

A recent example is an extensive write-up of D Russell Reed, O.D., 
by area editor Marcia C. Porter of the LaPorte (Indiana) Herald-Argus, 
November 25, 1983, page 8, under the caption "People profile." 
According to the article Dr. Reed•s life history began with a family 
controversy over naming him, .which led to his given first name being 
a D without a period. Then followed details of his early education, 
problems precipitated by the Great Depression, interim jobs, optometry 
school, marriage, military service, professional accomplishments, 
civic contributions, retirement, and current dedication. Few persons 
of national prominence are really more noteworthy. 

For similar reasons, optometric history is largely recorded in 
local documents rather than in major archives. 

Gullstrand accused: -- -

In an article entitled "Neue Verfahren zur Bestimmung des 
Augenastigmatismus," in the October 1983 issue of Deutsche 
Optikerzeitung, Vol. 38, No. 10, pp. 26-27 & 30-31, Prof. Dr. Josef 
Reiner gives a brief historical review of the use of the Stokes 



- 42 -

variable cylinder lens and Jackson's crossed cylinder lens for the 
subjective measurement of astigmatism. The more than a century's 
delay of acceptance of Jackson's crossed cylinder technique in 
the Germanic area of Europe is attributed to the contrary expression 
of opinion by Gullstrand, whose authority was so great as to make 
his word unchallenged. 

Heritage displays available: 

The Deutsche Optikerzei~, Postfach 104443, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 
15, 6900 Heidelberg, West Germany, is offering reproductions of five 
copperplate and woodcut engravings of old masters hand-etched in 
copper or pewter, in leaded staioed glass, as printed facsimiles, or 
in greeting card form. The five are selected from the "Historischen 
Bildarchiv Adolph Kayser" for their ophthalmic history significance. 
The earliest is No. 107 by Jost Amman (1568) showing a spectaclemaker 
with calipers in hand and his affluent-appearing customer holding a 
pair of medially hinged lenses in front of his eyes. No. 62 by Jan 
Luyken (1711) shows an ophthalmologist inspecting the eye of a patient 
with an attendant holding the patient's head steady, an aide about to 
pour some fluid into a vial, and a dog underfoot. No. 67 of the same 
date and artist shows the spectacle peddler at the front of his shop 
helping an elderly scholar select a pair of glasses for reading. 
No. 207 by A. Ostade (1743) shows the itinerant vendor with a display 
basket of spectacles offering his wares to a housewife at her doorway 
with two other members of her family looking on curiously, all portrayed 
in a very humble if not quite deprived setting. No. 239, undated, by 
J. Stradamus, shows a central village market area with a spectacle 
seller's stall in the left foreground, a book printer's shop at the 
right, and a shoemaker's place immediately beyond, with village center 
buildings in the background and a number of shoplooking pedestrians 
here and there, several attracted by the spectacles. 

The prices are as follows. 

Copper 23 x 29 em. mounted (aufgeblockt) .... . 
Copper 32 x 42 em. mounted (aufgeblockt) .... . 
Copper 24 x 30 em. framed border (im Profilrahmen) 
Pewter 23 x 29 em. mounted . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Pewter 32 x 42 em. mounted ~ . . . . . . . . . . . 
Pewter 24 x 30 em. framed border . . . . . . . . . 
Leaded stained glass 23 x 29 em with linked chain. 
Printed facsimiles, monochrome, 25 x 32 em. 
Printed facsimiles, hand colored, 25 x 32 em. 
Greeting cards, per hundred ........ . 

(Extra charges for supplementary printing) 

48 DM 
72 DM 
58 DM 
52 DM 
78 DM 
64 DM 

122.50 DM 
28 DM 
34 DM 

120 DM 

The German Mark (DM) at the time of this writing is bout $0.37. 
The pictures are illustrated in the October and November, 1983, and 
perhaps subsequent issues, of the Deutsche Optikerzeitung. 



- 43 -

Binocular Refraction: Who started it? 

This is the title of an article by Deryck Humphriss on page 712 
of the November 5, 1983, issue of the Ophthalmic Optician, Vol. 23, 
No. 22. Having asked the question in the title Dr. Humphriss then 
outlines what, with his limited access to archives in South Africa, 
he believes may be a fair account of the invention of techniques to 
determine refractive errors monocularly during the patient's binocular 
fixation. 

Perhaps technically the first, suggests Humphriss, was L.A. 
Swann's use of dynamic retinoscopy in the early 1930's. He mentions 
the aperture described by Aldersley in the later thirties, and then 
Turville's "infinity balance" technique published in 1946. Other 
contributors mentioned for later years were Cowen, Lyons, Erskine, 
and Grolman, but without reference citations, as the article seems 
to have been written largely, and probably necessarily, from personal 
memory. 

In a recent letter Humphriss expressed his disappointment that 
no one responded to his request for any added or corrective information 
that readers might be able to supply. This prompted me to go back 
to a Master's thesis by my former student Kathy T. lim entitled, 
"A comparison of the Humphriss binocular technique with a similar 
monocular technique for the subjective determination of the spherical 
refractive error of the human eye," Indiana University, Bloomington, 
Indiana. June 1967. 

In her historical introduction she quotes the following from 
William Porterfield, A Treatise on The Eye, the Manner and Phenomena 
of Vision, Vol. 1, Edinburgh, 1759, p. 421, as his description of the 
importance of binocular visi~n for purpose of getting valid results 
with his optometer: " ... the eye does frequently mistake the 
distance of the object seen thro• the Slits; for when its Distance 
lies betwixt the limits of distant vision, to which the Eye can 
accommodate itself, it would never appear double did not the Mind 
mistake its Distance. And this is the Reason why, when both Eyes 
are open and directed to the object; it appears single at all 
Distances within the limit of distant vision, by Reason the Eye 
is then accommodated to its Distance;" 

J.H. Lucas tells more: ----·--

As a sequel to a previous bit of reminiscence mentioned in our 
last issue, page 9, ophthalmic optician lucas recalls his four 
year optometric stint in Ceylon (now Sri lanka) beginning January 
1,. 1922. He had contracted to provide the optometric services for 



• 44 -

a well established optical firm in Colombo with periodic services 
in other towns on the island. The enterprise served all of the 
various ethnic groups in the area. 

Lucas•s report is in the January 21, 1984, issue of the 
Ophthalmic Optician, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 44 & 46. 

Spectacles out for bids: 

Bonhams Works of Art Department in Knightsbridge, London, 
announced the auctioning of over 300 pairs of old spectacles and 
related optical items in their autumn Bygones Sale scheduled for 
last October 14. The collecting of spectacles is a rapidly 
expanding field. It was anticipated that some of the spectacles 
would bring as much as.fl50. More details were reported in the 
September 24 issue of the Ophthalmic Optician, Vol. 23, No. 19, 
p. 615. 

Appreciated: 

O.H.S. member D.G. Hummel, 0.0., of North Royalton, Ohio, 
writes, 11 I use these subscriptio~s as small gifts. They have been 
enthusiastically received. 11 

He enclosed a check to cover membership dues for his friend 
J.E. Fitzgerald, 0.0., of nearby Parma, Ohio. 

H. W Hofstetter, Editor 


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