..... *"' ''*** .. ., ·~· i-*·~~·: ·~·: \' · . .: ·.: .. ..;; il"il** -.:·::•• •k :; . « ; .., Indiana Uni·;ersity E > « > « > • t MAR 6 1986 i. • • t • il!Jl'l\\t-1!\ \11\ililf.lW!"Il'll ! E . NEWSLETTER : Library Serials Dept. : OF THE . .. • **********""""*"'"*"***+*"***"'--*~ _))PTOMETRIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY (243 North Lindbe9Jll Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri ofT MAR 7 1986 63141, u.s.A.) Vol. 17 January, 1986 Number 1 1986 O.H.S. Executive Board: Viewing the member list of the 1986 O.H.S. Executive Board found below one might think an error had been made--no such thing. Although the expiration dates are slightly different, the members are identical to the 1985 Board. That is a long-winded way of stating that by a landslide Maria Dablemont was re-elected by the O.H.S. membership to another five-year term on the Executive Board. Listed below is the full 1986 Executive Board and expiration year of each member•s term. Jerome J. Abrams - 1986 James P. Leeds - 1987 Patricia Carlson - 1988 Andrew E. Fischer - 1989 Maria Dablemont - 1990 The board members will elect officers for 1986 among themselves and the results ~ill be announced in the next Newsletter. Proposed O.H.S. By-law ammendments: Enclosed with this Newsletter you will find a separate sheet detailing proposed ammendments to the O.H.S. By-laws. Please complete your ballot and mail it to Maria Dablemont at the address shown on the form. Your vote is important. O.H.S. meeting: Thirty-five people attended the Optometric Historical Society annual meeting at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, on December 7, 1985. President Jerry Abrams opened by introducing the invited speaker Doug Penisten who delivered a paper entitled, 11 Helmholtz, Phantom Visual Imagery, and the Idioretinal Light. 11 Following the talk Maria Dablemont invited all in attendance to participate in a 11 Reminisce-In 11 • For the next half hour individuals offered fascinating and little known accounts in optometric h·istory. Maria Dablemont then announced the names of three individuals honored as recipients of the O.H.S. Recognition Certificate. The recipients and their accolades follow. Dr. James F. Dickson, Spring Valley, CA All of us have dreams. By lack of action, they may become life illusions, quickly replaced throughout the years, when they lose the fight for credibi 1 i ty. . 2 Others dream and do something about it. Such is Or. Dickson. His dream is to see someday ILAMO's optical museum become the best in the country. Indeed his goal is to see it surpassing the Smithsonian collection! His first step was to donate to ILAMO his well known, valuable and unique collection. Subsequently, he has obtained several private collections for ILAMO and is now in the midst of a search to secure a donor for a much coveted collection whose price is beyond ILAMO's financial reach. Or. Dixon is an authority on antique eyeglasses, has written for antiquarian publications, and is well known by dealers. He knows many private collectors and is a recognized appraiser of collections. His advice is sought by collectors and generously given, even when it requires quite a bit of correspondence and work. The ILAMO staff often turns to him when they are confronted with items that are difficult to identify or classify properly. His modesty and kindness almost conflict with the relentless pursuit of his dream. Or. Jacob Staiman, Baltimore, MD If culture, as Powys says, is the ability to find the great in the infinitesimally small, Or. Staiman is a man of culture. He is also a scholar and historian, versed in Judaism, the humanities, and optometry in all its aspects. Once he had the title of ILAMO's Consultant when the Committee on History of the AOA was created and ILAMO's archives and museum were developed. He is to this day the staff mentor, and he takes history documentation very seriously. He is, of course, a member of the Optometric Historical Society and has been a lecturer at our annual meetings. Dr. Staiman hibernates during the Baltimore winter in his apartment literally taken over by books with hardly any walking space or clear surface left alone. Come summer, led by his wanderlust and intellectual curiosity, he departs to the four corners of the earth. On his way back he stops at ILAMO like a legendary figure, fierce, demanding, hasty, and, yet, amazingly patient. He unwraps quite solemnly exquisite eyeglasses, rare books, historical documents that. he finds in remote places like the margins of the Seine, a bookstore in Ireland, a dealer somewhere in the u.s. He brushes off gratitude with a pretense to gruffness: "Let • s get to work," he says, and totally in his element, safe from the embarrassment of the magnanimous giver, he emerges in his role of teacher and consultant, totally unconcerned that the world out there is oblivious of his enormous contribution to the library and to the history of his profession. Dr. Irving Bennett, Beaver Falls, PA How many friends and acquaintances of Irving Bennett ever thought of him as a behind-the-scene instrumental in acquiring and ~reserving historical records, artifacts, and memorabilia, utilizing different means and approaches in a lifetime dedication to the very neglected area of optometric history. . Of course, everyone knows his obvious contribution to hi story, and h·aw he h1mse~f b:came a part of history as ~n accomplished journalist, writer, organ1zat1on man, lecturer and occasionally witty master of ceremonies at optometric functions. 3 Now, for a few examples of the little known Bennett: He has been a member of OHS since 1970 with a habit of forgetting or ignoring the exact amount of dues. His "dues" checks are always far above the correct amount. No one knows, or at least the ILAMO staff claims innocence, where he finds, or which elbows he twists to grab, the optometricana he is always sending to the International Library, Archives, and Museum of Optometry. Bennett is a (charter) Life Member of the Friends of ILAMO. The Friends' major concern is to preserve and to disseminate information on the scientific, historical-socio-economic aspects of optometry. A long way back he pulled one, that anyone who knew Albert Fitch well, will agree, must have been the greatest and trickiest behind-the-scene deal on behalf of history Bennett has ever made. With the greatest skill and diplomacy he induced Fitch to write one of the most revealing and fully documented works on early optometric hi story--"My 50 Years in Optometry." I leave you with this revelation of one more facet of the multifaceted personality of Irving Bennett, and take pride in presenting him the OHS award on behalf of the Officers and Members of the Society. An academic rise and demise: In 1934, William Dayton Walden, born May 8, 1911, decided that the state of Kentucky needed a school of optometry. In this end he founded the Walden College of Optometry and Technology in his own community of Mount Sterling, presently a town of five thousand people in east-central Kentucky. The college was chartered as a nonprofit corporation and enrolled its first students in 1935, initially as a two or three year course. On August 21, 1937, it was rechartered as the Kentucky State College of Optometry and by 1938 had expanded to a four year curriculum. It also announced a department of technology with three and six month courses for the training of optometric technicians. The college ceased operation in 1945 near the end of World War II. During its few years of operation the college had graduated a total of 35 students, as best Dr. Walden now remembers. Many of the records were lost in a catastrophic Mount Sterling fire a few years ago, and most of the stored archives were lost in a local flood. The few remnants consist of about fifty miscellaneous documents and items of correspondence that Dr. Walden has gleaned from his private practice files in response to a request from OHS member James Leeds. Most of the salvaged items are from the 1937-1939 period. The present commentary is based almost entirely on their perusal, a fascinating experience, plus a brief telephone conversation with Dr. Walden in October, 1985. Dr. Walden expressed very genuine regrets over the loss of the college records and especially his own inability to remember many details accurately. That the failure of the school to attain the objectives of its founders was perhaps the major disappointment of his career seens to be of no doubt. He now philosophizes simply that the classic odds were against it. A few words about Dr. Walden. His biographical entries in optometric directories show him as an alumnus of the University of Kentucky and a 4 graduate of the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee. He maintained memberships and held offices in numerous local civic organizations, served six years in the military, a while as Mayor and member of the Council of Mount Sterling, and conducted a solo practice of optometry to support himself, his wife, and two children. He was obviously held in high regard by contemporary optometric leaders in Kentucky as reflected in the correspondence. In a 11 To Whom It May Concern .. 1 etter of October 1, 1938, from a Mr. s. c. Sharp, Secretary of the Rotary Club of Mt. Sterling, Ky., Dr. Walden (then only 27 years old) is described as "one of our highest class citizens, a perfect gentleman in every respect and a man to command the respect of every man, woman and child in the community ... The letter's five paragraphs of near adulation close with, "If there is any question as to his standing in this community, would suggest that inquiry be made of any of our four banks, heads of our schools, any of our seven preachers, or any business house in this city." Letters and printed documents authored by Dr. Walden show excellent command of English and logic. It is apparent from the salvaged correspondence that the State of Kentucky had not been attracting enough applicants for optometric licensure and that many communities in the state were without optometric services. Walden's school had the expressed endorsement and support of the offices of the Kentucky Association of Optometrists, headed by Starr E. Steele, O.D., President, the Kentucky Board of Examiners in Optometry, headed by R. M. Kendall, 0.0., Chairman, and H. K. Fulkerson, 0.0., the longtime editor of The Kentucky Optometrist, and others. It was also given a favorable evaluation~ Professor Freder1c A. Wall, in March 1938 for the International Association of Boards of Examiners in Optometry, the national accrediting body of that era, on the basis of which the school was nationally accredited. Problems, however, arose in the State of Kentucky itself. The Kentucky optometry law of that era placed the profession directly under the surveillance and administration of the Kentucky State Board of Health. The Kentucky Board of Examiners in Optometry appears to have been merely an ad hoc appointment of optometric personnel to examine applicants for licensure and to serve in an unofficial advisory role to the State Board of Health, the legally designated licensing authority. The Kentucky State Health Commissioner and Secretary of the State Board of Health was A. T. McCormack, M.D., who appears to have been the key opponent to the establishment and accreditation of the then new optometry school. He is credited witb saying that the school 11COuld not get the approval and recognition of the Department of Health as they some years ago closed all of the medical colleges here and now have one at the University of Louisville, it being the only one recognized in the state ... * In another letter** he is credited with unwillingness to recognize the school until it affiliated with a university, and that in that view he had spoken to Dr. Frank L. McVey, President of the University of Kentucky, in the school's behalf. Apparently for this reason the two applicants from the first class of graduates were denied eligibility to take the Kentucky examinations. Their application checks of $25.00 each dated November 8, 1937, were returned to *Letter of November 2, 1937, from R. M. Kendall toW. D. Walden. **Letter of August 30, 1938, from H. K. Fulkerson to w. D. Walden. 5 Dr. Walden in May 16, 1938, by P. E. Blackerby, M.D., Assistant Secretary in the office of the State Department of He~lth of Kentucky. Apparently Dr. Walden then sought legal counsel, for in a letter of June 3, 1938 he wrote Dr. McCormack, 11 In keeping with the instructions given me by Judge Prewitt and W. C. Hamilton who had a conference with you yesterday relative to arranging privilege of examination to graduates of this college, I am sending you herewith the graduates• checks for their required fee ... In the same letter he added, 11 Further in line with the conference I hope to have an interview with you as to the probability of having Dr. McVey make my college a unit of the Kentucky University ... Further, 11 I hope I shall be able to sell the prospect to Dr. McVey ... In a copy of a letter to Dr. Walden dated September 13, 1938, President McVey wrote, 11 I find your letter of September 2 on my return from Maine. I have not seen Or. McCormack, and, so far as I know, he has not been by this way ... In what seems obviously to be Or. Walden•s handwritiang to himself on this copy of the letter is the comment, 11 This was the 3rd time Or. McCormick lied about going to see McVey to help get College accepted at the U. of K ... In a letter to Or. Walden dated October 29, 1938, Frederic A. Woll wrote, 11 0r. McCormack certainly seems to have gone out of his way to both embarrass and harass you. However, don•t for one minute let up on your efforts to procure and maintain your rights. I sincerely hope that you will win your suit. 11 These brief notes are derived from the packet of documents salvaged by Or. Walden and forwarded to Or. Leeds. Unfortunately it leaves us a bit high and dry with regard to the remaining history of the college. Nevertheless, it does give us a glimpse of the conflict that surrounded an enterprising effort during its early years, a project that appears to have been destined to defeat by the obstinacy of one Or. McCormack and the occurrence of World War II. The packet will be forwarded to ILAMO, the International Library Archives and Museum of Optometry, to be accumulated with the many other documents that can help us reconstruct optometry•s fascinating history. Supplement sans comment: The following is a copy of a bill submitted to Or. Walden on March 31, 1938, for Or. Woll 1 s accreditation inspection visit: Expenses from New York City to Mt. Sterling, Ky., and return. (Inspection of Kentucky State College of Optometry) By Frederick A. Woll March 11th., 1938 Fare to Mt. Sterling Berth Taxi to station Lunch Dinner $23.05 5.00 1.60 .90 1.70 . 6. March 12th., 1938 · Fare to New York City Berth Dinner March 13th., 1938 Breakfast Taxie March 11th, 1938 To substitute for 3 afternoon classes You may be helpful: 23.05 5.00 1.50 .80 2.05 9.00 Total Expenses $73.65 OHS member James R. Gregg, 0.0., 412 South Rolling Hills Place, Anaheim, California 92807, has been commissioned to write a history of the American Academy of Optometry. He tells us that he needs photographs, correspondence, programs, and other memorabilia as resources. He has discovered that the late Carel Koch, who served the Academy in an official capacity for many years, did not believe in saving things. Just an accumulation of his extensive correspondence would have been an archival gold mine, but it does not exist. So, if you own any correspondence that relates to the Academy or to Academy personnel, please do send it, or lend it, to Or. Gregg, or forward it to ILAMO. A question of credit: Ernest E. Maddox, 1863-1933, is ordinarily given credit for clarifying binocular convergence into four components, namely, tonic, accommodative, voluntary (proximal or psychic), and reflex (fusional). This appears on page 106 of the second edition of his book "The Clinical Use of Prisms' published in 1893, in Bristol. It does not appear in the first edition published in 1889. In his 1893 edition on page 90 he makes reference to a lecture by Hansen Grut, who turns out to have been Edmund Hansen Grut, M.D., Professor of Ophthalmology in the University of Copenhagen. The lecture was a Bowman Lecture enti t1 ed "A contribution to the pathogeny of concomitant squinting (convergent and divergent}." It was delivered on Friday, November 15, 1889, and published on pages 1-41 of Vol. 10 of the Transactions of the Ophthalmological Societi.es.of the United Kingdom, 1890. The following single paragraph from the lecture illustrates succinctly GrtJt's lucid concept of the three dynamic components, fusional, acconunodative and proximal convergence respectively: "The primary cause of the accurate associations presented by the eyes in their lateral movements is the desire for fusion of the images which they receive from the same objects. The movement of convergence, too, is regulated by fusion; but, in additio~, by accommodation and, though 1n a less degree, by the consc1ousness of the d1stance of the object which engages attention." 7 The fourth component, that of tonic convergence, is identified separately in the statement that 11 The tone is of course an involuntary innervation, and it is reasonable to assume that it represents the minimum innervation of the muscles, and is consequently a relative if not an absolute state of rest." The role and theoretical significance of each of the components are dealt with at length in the lecture, first in terms of normal functions and secondly in relation to concomitant squint. Credit is given to numerous other authors for variously related contributions and concepts, but no one is identified with his classification of the convergence components. Grut•s description of the relationship of the four components is overwhelmingly more lucid and comprehensive than that of Maddox. It seems very possible, therefore, that the credit we have been giv·ing to Maddox really belongs to Grut. Classics in leather: Last September OHS member D. E. Polzien, O.D., forwarded to us an undated but presumably recent letter he had received from Plul Henkind, M.D., Ph.D., calling personal attention to The Classics of Ophthalmology Library which Dr. Henkind serves as a member of its Editorial Advisory Board. The objective of the Library is "simply to create a 1 imi ted and registered set of the 1 andmark books in ophthalmology and optometry, bound in genuine leather, and made available exclusively to ophthalmologists and optometrists under a year-long repurchase guarantee ... . Included was a .. Charter Enrollment Form11 labeled "Void after Dec. 31st by means of which.~ne could enroll as a Char~er Member and receive Danders• On the Anomalies of Accommodation and Refraction of the Eye at the special --­ introductory price of $27.50, plus postage and handl1ng, and the opportunity to purchase additional leather-bound classics in the Library at the price of $55.00 each, plus postage and handling at the rate of approximately eight books per year. Each volume in the collection is to be r.ublished in a 11 Strictly limited edition of only 5,000 copies worldwide•. . Other authors listed for forthcoming volumes include Hermann von Helmholtz, George Bartisch, Antonio Scarpa, Sir William Bowman, and James Wardrop, with 26 others under consideration. The publisher is identified as Leslie B. Adams, Jr., 3100 Independence Drive, Post Office Box 76108, Birmingham, Alabama 35253, Telephone (205) 879-8380. Coherent history: Lasers have now been around long enough to have a substantial history. 11 LASERS: The first 25 years .. is an article by Anthony J. DeMaria in the October 1985 issue of Optics News, Vol. 11, No. 10, pp. 15-21. Though the resonator concept and masers (Microwave Amplification of Stimulated Emission of Radiation) date back to the-,ate 1940's and 19so•s, the operation-of the first ruby laser by Maimon in the latter part of 1960 made available for the first time a visible light beam having characteristics previously associated only with radio and microwave radiation. . 8 Laser history shows a rapid multidisciplinary involvement, expansive commercial development, and a wide variety of applications. The most serious challenge faced by this emerging technology giant, s~s author DeMaria, is the continuing shortage of electro-optical engineers necessary to meet the new and evolving product needs. Four generations of Rodenstock: "A History of the Rodenstock Dynasty" is the title of an article by A. H. Degenhardt in th~ August 31, 1985, issue of Optometry Today, vol. 25, no. 17, pp. 560-564, with a Foreward by Professor Or. Rolf Rodenstock. The four generations include the founder of the ophthalmic optical enterprise Josef Rodenstock (1846-1932) and his brother Michael, Josef's son Alexander (1883-1953), Alexander's son Rolf, and Rolf's son Randolph, who became a financial partner of his father in the management of the Optische Werke G. Rodenstock headquartered in Munich, West Germany, in 1983. From its beginning the firm has continuously beenclosely involved with optometry. Even Josef had his battles with ophthalmology because he included both subjective and objective refraction as a key part of the early service of his enterprise. Collectors club internationalized: By means of a clipping from a recent issue of The Optician (London) OHS member Irving Bennett informs us that the word "Internabonal" is now included as part of the title of the Ophthalmic Antique Collectors Club, which was formed in 1982. Its membership now totals more than 125 from several countries. Further details are available from Richard Brown, Treasurer, 18 Albion Street, Dunstable, Beds LU6 1HX, England. Notes from Ayscough and Molyneux: In a letter to OHS member James Leeds, OHS member Charles E. Letocha mentioned the fact that his most prized book is a 1754 copy of James ~scough, "A Short Account of the Eye, and Nature of Vision", the third edition, London. He included a photocopy of the 28 page publication. He also asked where he might obtain a copy of val ume 1 of Albert Fitch's "My Fifty Years in Optometry", a'S he already has volume 2. Letocha is mainly a collector of spectacles but has accumulated a number of ophthalmic books and instruments as well. On the title page of the Ayscough book is the explanation that it is "Chiefly designed to Illustrate the Use and Advantage of Spectacles wherein are laid down Rules for choosing Glasses proper for remedying all the different Defects of Sight. As also some Reasons for preferring a particular kind of Glass, fitter than any other made Use of for that Purpose." The text was intentionally written in popular style "as to be understood by People of all Capacities." He described the structure of the eye and its optical functions, including a few rules of refraction of light, what is accomplished by spectacle lenses, and some of the "Signs of the Want of 9 Spectacles ... He also gave arguments for using green and blue instead of white glass for spectacles. In favor of using an ophthalmic glass 11 0f a greenish cast .. he took to task 11 People of the Trade .. who 11 acknowledged the Properties of this Glass, though they opposed it in Publick giving it as a Reason, that it would spoil the Sale of Spectacles made of Rock Crystal and Brazil Pebbles, which for some time had been much cried up for the1r extraordinary V1rtues, while, in reality, there is nothing to recommend them but their exorbitant Price, and the no small Gain which they brought to the Craftsmen ... On the last ten pages is James Ayscough's advertisement of his optical establishment 11 At the Golden-Spectacles and Quadrant, in Ludgate-Street, London .. for 11 fi tti ng People of all Ages 11---aifd where persons 11 from the Country .. who follow directions in the book 11 Can be fitted as well as if they wer.e on the Spot ... He also mentioned his 11 Frames, entirely of a new Contrivance ... In support of his theme and his role as an optician Ayscough included in the final pages of the text the beautifully expressed words of the famous Irish philosopher and mathematician William Molyneux, 1656-1698, as follows: (For lack of an old English 11 S 11 in our type font the very similar letter 11 f 11 is substituted to convey the early print style) Were there no further Ufe of Dioptricks, than the Invention of Spectacles for the Ufe of defective Eyes; whether they be thofe of old Men, or thofe of Purblind Men; I fhould think the Advantage that Mankind receives thereby, inferior to no other Benefit whatfoever, not abfolutely requifite to the Support of Life. For as the Sight is the moft noble and extenfive of all our Senfes; and as we make the moft frequent and conftant Ufe of our Eyes in all the Actions and Concerns of human Life; furely that Inftrument that relieves the Eyes when decayed, and fupplies their Defects, rendering them ufeful, when otherwife almoft ufelefs, muft needs, of all others, be efteemed of the greateft Advantage. In what a miferable Condition do we count thofe, in whom it hath pleafed the great Contriver of the Eyes and Sight to fhut thefe two little Windows of the Soul? And we may imagine, that they, in whom thefe Lights are but partly obfcured, do in fame Meafure partake of the Miferies of the Blind. How melancholy is the Condition of him, who only enjoys the Sight of what is immediately about him? With what Difadvantage is he engaged in moft of the Concerns of human Life? Reading is to him troublefome, War more than ordinary dangerous, Trade and Commerce toilfome and unpleafant: And fo likewife, on the other Hand, how forlorn would the latter Part of moft Men's Lives prove, unlefs Spectacles were at Hand to help our Eyes, and a little formed Piece of Glafs fupplied the Defects of Nature? The curious Mechanic, engaged in any minute Words, could no 1 anger fall ow his Trade than till the Fiftieth or Sixtieth Year of his Age; the Scholar no longer converfe with his Books, or with an abfent Friend in a Letter: All after would be melaancholy Idlenefs, or he muft content himfelf to ufe another Man's eyes for every Line. Thus forlorn was the State of moft Old Men, and many Young, before this admirable Invention; which, on this very Account, can never be prized too highly. Teunissen address change: In a recent letter J. c. Teunissen (sometimes spelled Theunissen) advised us of his change of address to Staringstraat 20, 5615HD, Eindhoven, the . 10 Netherlands. He says he no longer has his museum but he still has his optical collection and is interested in exchanging, buying, and selling early spectacles and microscopes. He adds that in spectacles of the "fifties" he wants only extreme and extraordinary models. NOHS readers may recall that Teunissen•s hobby was mentioned in the July and UC~er 1983 issues, vol. 14, pp. 73 and 106. Internationalizing OHS: Yes, the Optometric Historical Society has a very significant share of its membership and participation from five continents and elsewhere. After all, ophthalmic optics has early roots wherever peoples reside, and its history is fascinating but often difficult to extract. A most gratifying way to help resolve this difficulty is to get more OHS members from every populated area of the globe. Our individual gratification comes from gift memberships to optometric pen pals of other nations and especially to professional acquaintances made in international travel. If you know an optometric counterpart in Tombouctou, Irkutsk, Valparaiso, or Easter Island you will find him or her profusely grateful for the opportunity to share some of our pleasures. Our Secretary-Treasurer will inform the new member that the membership is your gift. Blindiana stamp exhibit The July 1985 issue of AFB News reported an exhibit of postage stamps, covers, and other philatelic-rtems-commemorating persons and events relating to blindness. After the showing in New York through November it was scheduled to travel to the Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. regional offices of the American Foundation for the .Blind. The first Blindiana stamp was issued in 1916 by what is now Yugoslavia, a semi-postal stamp depicting a blind soldier. A semi-postal stamp is one sold at a surcharge over postal value for charitable purposes. Other countries represented in the collection include Kenya, Swaziland, Barbados, Panama, Luxembourg, West Germany, Israel, Botswana, Grenada, Singapore, Ghana, Brazil, U.S. A., and Togo. Themes include famous blind persons, bli~d persons at work, Braille details, and dog guides. Selective effective giving: OHS member and trustee Andrew F. Fischer, O.D., is determined to make certain that his history-oriented professional friends shall not overlook the pleasures and satisfaction of belonging to the OHS. This year he has selected John N. Schoen, O.D., of Owatonna, Minnesota; Norbert Kastner, o.o., of Iselin, New Jersey; Carmen A. Perma, O.D., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and R. C. Eckert, O.D., of Jasper, Indiana, to receive his annual gift memberships. He has also asked our Secretary-Treasurer to check a list of nine other names from which he plans to select five names for gift memberships this coming year if they do not already belong. Thank you, Andy! ll Ancient and recent history: In the Winter, 1985, issue of Berkeley Optometry, vol. 21, no. 4, a ten page publication of the University of Cal'lforma, Berkeley, School of Optometry, Dean Jay Enoch discusses the 11 The Dance of Siva ... Siva is the third god in the Hindu trinity, and one of its forms is Nataraja, Lord of the Cosmic Dance. Dr. Enoch calls our attention to a third eye in the forehead of a Siva statue and tells us that it .. represents an all-seeing aspect of this idol • 11 The Siva statue was presented to Enoch in his role in the dedication of the new Elite School of Optometry in Madras, India, on September 18, 1985. The school was so named because its benefactor C. K. Shah, who contributed 1 million rupies, is the president of the Elite Optical Company in Madras. Details of the establishment of the school are described in a well illustrated article entitled 11 Dean•s Report 11 in the aforementioned publication. Also in the same issue is a brief account of the twelve years of events leading up to the establishment of the optometry school at Berkeley, California, in 1920. The article, pages 6-7, is entitled 11 THEIR PLEDGE - OUR PLEDGE .. by Tom Trutner. The complexity of pinkeye: Willard R. Espy writes about the oddities of word origins and usage. His books and magazine articles have playful titles, rhetorical twists, and a bit of personality. OHS member T. David Williams submitted the following passage received from his optometry student Cal vi n Kettner as an excerpt from Espy• s 11 Have a word on me .. , Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York, NY 1984, pages 231-232: 11 By the way, .. said Beau Brummel, 11 have you ever had pinkeye? .. I said, ... You are becoming ridiculous. Yes, I suppose I had pinkeye in my childhood. Why? 11 11 Why do you think the disease is called pinkeye? .. 11 Because the eye is inflamed, and so pink ... .. Quite wrong. 'Pink' is from the Dutch pinck, 'small' (which is why your little finger is your 'pinky'), plus oog, •eye•. Your eyelids were inflamed; your eyes were half-closed, ana-50 small. The color pink had nothing to do with it. 11 I do not have pinkeye, .. I said. Espy does not cite evidence for this interesting etymological interpretation of pinkeye. It is not documented by Webster's Third New International Dictionary nor Dorland's Medical Dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary cites several different early uses of the word unrelated to Espy's analysis, such as .. a variety of potato .. (1795), 11 a contagious fever or influenza in the horse, so called from the colour of the inflamed conjunctha 11 12 (1883), "a contagious form of ophthalmia in man, marked by redness of the eyeball" (1897), and "an Australian species of duck" (1896). The word "pinck", said by Espy to be a Dutch word, is not in Cassell's English-Dutch/Dutch-English Dictionary (1973) either in the Dutch section or as a translation of "small" in the English section. From the Cherokee Indian Nation: An interesting history of the Northeastern State University and its College of Optometry in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is an article by W. C. Maples, o.o., in the Fall 1985 issue of the Journal of Optometric Education, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 8-13. The university originated as a seminary in 1846. The first optometry students enrolled in 1979. Tahlequah is the site of the capitol of the Cherokee Indian Nation founded when the u. s. federal government decreed the movement of twelve thousand Cherokees from the Carolinas and Georgia to the Oklahoma part of the Louisiana Purchase. Monet•s cataracts and his art: _ Recently the French Ophthalmological Society acquired some letters that Impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) had written to his ophthalmologist. The letters have been studied by Or. James G. Ravin, according to a New York Times News service item appearing on page A1 of the November 9, 1985, issue of The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky). Dr. Ravin says that because Monet•s style was deliberately based on a certain imprecision of detail his visual difficulties did not become apparent until, when he was in his 6o•s, forms began to vanish in his paintings of weeping willows and water lilies. In 1918 Monet wrote that he "no longer perceived colors with the same intensity•• and 11 no longer painted light with the same accuracy.•• He described his "wasted" efforts: "What I painted was more and more like an •old picture,• and when the attempt was over and I compared it to former wor!{s, I would be seized by a frantic rage and slash all my canvasses with my penknife ... By 1922, before his cataract surgery, blues had disappeared from his paintings. After only one cataract was removed he saw. everything too yellow in one eye and too blue in the other. He eventually adapted his vision with tinted 1 enses ... Another optic~l stamp collector: Mrs. R. M. (Martha) Hall, 1200 Holden Avenue, #65, Orlando, Florida 32809, informs us that she has a collection of every United States stamp that depicts a visual aid, not only spectacles but also hand magnifiers, microscopes, sportswear lenses, and safety goggles. She had displayed it for years in the office of her late husband, R. M. Hall, 0.0., of Cleveland, Ohio, and it prompted much conversation. The collection includes not only a MINT copy of each of 72 stamps but also a canceled duplicate of· each. Some are about 65 13 years old; .. not even the U. s. Philatelic Office in Washington, D.C. has them, for they have not been printed for almost as many years 11 • Her total stamp hobby is in much broader topical areas, including pictures of buildings ranging 11 from mud house to Windsor Palace11 • Optometric journal history: Jerry L. Christensen, O.D., Ph.D., gives a 11 History of the Journal of the American Optometric Associ ati on 11 on pages 852-858 of the November 1985 1 ssue of that JOurnal, vol. 56, no. 11, commemorating its 60th anniversary. The· journal regards its own origin to be that of the A.O.A. Messenger of November 1925, continued as volume 1 of the A.O.A. Orgnaizer in 1929, and with a change to its present title in 1930. Front covers of 21 former issues are shown, as well as the portraits of its five successive editors. Unfortunately the current J.A.O.A. editor allowed a misconception to slip into his supplementary editorial commentary on page 840 in stating that in 1925, 11 0ptometry was a small, struggling profession ... Even the aristocratic design of the 1925 A.O.A. Messenger and President Kimball's message on its front cover belie thls false presumption. Our historical biases are indeed hard to eliminate. History in caricature: A letter from Mr. J. H. Hadley of Boca Raton, Florida, in October reads, 11 I qualified as an English Ophthalmic Optician in 1954 and was in practice there until three years ago, at which time I emigrated to the U.S. with my family, and no longer work in Optics. I have supplied The Optician with cartoons* for many years and recently proposed sketching a ser1es of 'Historical Optical Oddities'. Curiously I had already completed ones on the St. Valentine's Day massacre and 3D films and was currently preparing strips on Ellis Island and Benjamin Franklin, all of which subjects are strongly featured in your newsletters. Obviously, I have to be selective, as my strips are intended to mildly entertain rather than educate, and I try to end with an i rani c twist ... He enclosed four of his cartoons still in the rough stage and not ready for publication, (I appropriated these to my private cartoon collection! H.W H.). They are very enjoyable and a bit more educative than he claims. He also enclosed a check for O.H.S. membership dues. *Under the caption 11 Mr. Denbigh ... Galileo vs. Scheiner: An exposition of the enmity between Galileo (1564-1642) and Scheiner (1579?-1650) was included in a Distinguished Faculty Research Lecture entitled, 11 Ga1ileo and the Jesuits .. given in 1985 at Indiana University by 14 Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Richard S. Westfall, Ph.D. and printed as a 25 page booklet by the university's Office of Research and Graduate Development. The following passage is excerpted from the printed copy: "While the controversy on bodies in water was still in progress, Galilee became involved in a second one, which did not address itself to the Tuscan scene but nevertheless involved matters that bear on my topic. The opponent in the new controversy, which concerned sunspots, was a German who wrote under the pseudonym of Apelles. Their differences involved the interpretation of the spots seen on or in front of the sun, with manifold opportunities for sarcastic thrusts like those mentioned above; and they included as well the question of priority in the discovery, with all of the potential for bitterness that such questions seem usually to entail. Galileo eventually learned that Apelles was Christopher Scheiner, a Jesuit whom the order called to its Collegia Romano in 1624. Although Scheiner does not seem initially to have looked upon Galilee as an enemy, he was not one quietly to swallow ridicule, and when he did learn to hate Galilee, he remained implacable until his death." Another passage relates to a lecture by Orazio Grassi, a Professor of Mathematics at the Collegio Romano, as follows: "Galilee had only one style of controversy. To Grassi's lecture he replied with a Discourse on Comets. The Discourse appeared over the name of Mar1o Gu1ducci; we know from the manuscript that it was Galilee's composition, and at the time everyone received it as such. Although the issue of comets had nothing to do with sun­ spots, Galileo chose to open the Discourse with a charge of plagia­ rism against Scheiner, deliberately couched in the most insulting terms. Scheiner calls himself Apelles, Galileo said, though he does not compare even with a mediocre painter. Can we seriously wonder that Scheiner became his inveterate enemy? .. Professor Westfall i.nforms us that he has in rough form an essay on .. Galileo and Sunspots .. in which Scheiner shows up more prominently that in the above cited lecture. He is not sure when he will have time to put the rough sketch into final form. Henry W Hofstetter Douglas K. Penisten, Editors THE OPTOMETRIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY For all OHS members: 243 NORTH LINDBERGH BOULEVARD SAINT LOUIS. MISSOURI 63141 December 16, 1985 At a duly called meeting on December 8, 1985, the Executive Board members in attendance agreed that the By-laws should be amended to increase the size of the Executive Board to seven and to divide the presently combined office of Secretary-Treasurer into two offices, one of Secretary and the other of Treasurer. The argument in favor was essentially that these amendments would provide greater flexibility in the assignment and sharing of duties and responsibilities, all of which are on a non-salaried volunteer basis. The adoption of one of these proposed amendments would provide for the election of three Trustees in 1986 to take office in 1987, another to be elected in 1987 to begin in 1988, and two to be elected each year thereafter except every fourth year when only one term expires. The other proposed amendment merely accomplishes the sharing of the bulk of official duties. In the proposed amendments deletions are in parentheses and additions are underlined, as follows: Article IV, Section 1: The Executive Board shall consist of seven {five) members, each to be elected by the membership for a four {five) year term--except as here noted. Three shall be elected in 1986 to oegll1 their terms on January 1, 1987, o-n-e--to begTn-a· term of-four years-to--su-cceed fn-eprevious--boa-ra-·m-embe-rwno_s_e ___ _ re-rm -expTre-sDeceril-6-er-T3,1986~-a-riofn-er-~gin a term of ___ tnree-years~-an_d_ Tfle ___ thi rd-Ta··-begTna--ferm- of--twoyears.-·-TherearTer the number To be erected eac-h--yearTo_r.Tour-yeaTle-rms-slialTTe--ff1enurril)er necessary-to re-pTa_c_e-·Theboard member-·ar l)oa-rd members whose· term -or -terms are-duet()~easdefined._aT ____ - lll.~_;_r-r~s-p-ec-(~~IJ:ime-or_ t~E!~~:OJ e~I_e-cT!_o_n__:_ ----· - Article IV, Section 4: The Executive Board shall elect from among themselves a President, a Vice President, (and a Secretary-Treasurer) a Secretary, and a Treasurer, and the remaining members of the Executive Boa-rd-s-fialT_b_e-ae-s1gnated ·rr-u-stee-~--- The fo 11 owing is your ballot to be checked and mailed to Maria Dablemont at the above address: Article IV, Section 1 : IN FAVOR OPPOSED -·----- . ---·-·-·-~ Article IV, Section 4: IN FAVOR OPPOSED -·- .. --··- ---------- ATTENTION ALL COLLECTORS OF ANTIQUE EYE-GLASSES, SPECTACLES, OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS,AND ALL THOSE INTERESTED IN OCULAR AND OPTICAL HISTORY THE OCULAR HERITAGE SOCIETY cordially invites all Optometrists and other interested individuals, regardless of any professional affiliations to attend their third annual meeting to be held this year in New Orleans at the Royal Orleans Hotel and the Tulane University Optical Museum, Friday through Sunday, April 11-12-13 1986. There will be three days of exhibitions, historical talks,show-tell-and sell sessions, as well as fabulous banquets and meals for which the city of New Orleans is justly famous. Nothing like this has been done by any organization in this country before. At our last year's meeting collectors and dealers from all over Canada and the USA as well as England, Netherlands,Germany and France attended. This year, we expect an even wider turnout. If you would like to present a short historical presentation paper, please call our president,J. William RosenthaJLJ, M.D. ,2720 Jefferson Ave., New Orleans, LA. 70115, (504-947-3332). Further details of th meetings can be obtained from our secretary Spencer E. Sherman, M.D., 166 East 63rd St., New York, NY 10021, 212-753-8300. Substantial air travel discounts up to 35% are available to those traveling to our meeting. Flights must be booked through the Eastern Airlines Convention Desk. The special phone number is 800-468-7022 (Nationally) and 800-282- 0244 in the State of Florida only. Callers must identify themselves as going to the meeting of the Ocular Heritage Society in New Orleans and then give the operator this special EASY ACCESS NUMBER 4-BP-76 as a special identification. Travel can be on any airline, but the maximum discount will be for those who fly Eastern. Feel free to bring along anyone you wish who would appreciate our hobby. Ours is a very relaxed, and warm group and we wish to share our interests with others .We look forward to your joining us. Sincerely yours, /Jil ALAN YORK, O.D. Vice-President 516-324-1024 1986-17-01-001 1986-17-01-002 1986-17-01-003 1986-17-01-004 1986-17-01-005 1986-17-01-006 1986-17-01-007 1986-17-01-008 1986-17-01-009 1986-17-01-010 1986-17-01-011 1986-17-01-012 1986-17-01-013 1986-17-01-014 1986-17-01-015 1986-17-01-016