HINDSIGHT 
Journal of Optometry History 

January, 2009 
Volume 40, Number 1 

Official Publication of the Optometric Historical Society 



Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History publishes material on the history of optometry 
and related topics. As the official publication of the Optometric Historical Society, 
Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History supports the purposes and functions of the 
Optometric Historical Society. 

The purposes of the Optometric Historical Society, according to its by-laws, are: 
• to encourage the collection and preservation of materials relating to the history of 
optometry, 
• to assist in securing and documenting the recollections of those who participated in 
the development of optometry, 
• to encourage and assist in the care of archives of optometric interest, 
• to identify and mark sites, landmarks, monuments, and structures of significance in 
optometric development, and 
• to shed honor and recognition on persons, groups, and agencies making notable 
contributions toward the goals of the society. 

Officers and Board of Trustees of the Optometric Historical Society: 
President: 
Irving Bennett, 1520 Pelican Point Drive, BA252, Sarasota, FL 34231, 
irvbennett@juno.com 
Vice-President: 
Chuck Haine 
Secretary-Treasurer: 
Bridget Kowalczyk, American Optometric Association, 243 North Lindbergh Boulevard, 
St. Louis, MO 63141; btkowalczyk@aoa.org 
Trustees: 
Jerry Abrams 
Jay M. Enoch 
Douglas K. Penisten 
Melvin Wolfberg 

The official publication of the Optometric Historical Society, published quarterly since its 
beginning, was previously titled: 
Newsletter of the Optometric Historical Society, 1970-1991 (volumes 1-22), and 
Hindsight: Newsletter of the Optometric Historical Society, 1992-2006 (volumes 23-37). 
Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History began in 2007 with volume 38, number 1. 

On the cover: The drawing represents OHS for Optometric Historical Society: the 0 an 
elementary schematic of an eye, the H three intersecting pairs of spectacles, and the S 
a representation of a light wave with the Greek letter lambda indicating one wavelength. 
The drawing artist was Diane Goss. 

OHS website: www.opt.indiana.edu/ohs/opthohiso.html 



HINDSIGHT: Journal of Optometry History 
January, 2009 
Volume 40, Number 1 

Editor: 
David A. Goss, School of Optometry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, dgoss@indiana.edu 

Contributing Editors: 
Jay M. Enoch, School of Optometry, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-2020, 
jmenoch@berkeley .edu 
Douglas K. Penisten, College of Optometry, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, OK 74464, 
penisten@nsuok.edu 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

OHS News .................................................................................................... 2 

75th Anniversary of the Stiles-Crawford Effect(s): A Celebratory Special Symposium, 
October 23, 2008; Rochester, New York, Jay M. Enoch and Vasudevan 
Lakshminarayanan ...... .................................................................................... 3 

Johannes Amos Comenius (1592-1670) and his Depiction of Lenses and Spectacles in 
the First Children's Picture Book, David A. Goss ................................................. 25 

Origin of Optometry at Cardiff University, Michel Mil/odot .................................... .. 29 

Optometry Field Magazine, An Early Twentieth Century Periodical, David A. Goss .... 33 

Optometry's "Leading Society" Celebrates its 1001h Year: Notes on the Western 
Pennsylvania Optometric Society, Irving Bennett ................................................ 37 

Book Review: The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in 
Philosophical, Religious and Institutional Context, from Prehistory to A.D. 1450, Jay M. 
Enoch ........................................................................................................ 40 

Book Review: Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision 
Optics, David A. Goss ................................................................................... 41 

Book Review: Spectacles, Lorgnettes and Monocles, David A. Goss ..................... .43 

Instructions to Authors .................................................................................. 44 

Journal subscriptions are registered by joining the Optometric Historical Society. The cost of an 
institutional or library subscription is the same as for a regular personal membership. 

Manuscripts submitted for publication should be sent to the Editor at the email address or postal address 
above. A Word document attached to an email message is the preferred means of submission. Paper 
copy submissions sent by postal service will also be considered. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page I 



OHS News 

Officers and Board Members for 2009 
Irving Bennett and Chuck Haine have been elected to four year terms on the 

OHS Board. Bridget Kowalczyk will complete the unexpired term of Walter Chase, who 
is ill. The Board members have completed election of officers among themselves. 
Listed below are the OHS Executive Board members and the officers for 2009. The 
year of expiration of each Board member's term is given in parentheses. 

President.. ..................... Irving Bennett (2012) 
Vice-President. ............... Chuck Haine (2012) 
Secretary-Treasurer. ........ Bridget Kowalczyk (201 0) 
Trustees ........................ Jerry Abrams (2009) 

Jay Enoch (201 0) 
Doug Penisten (2011) 
Melvin Wolfberg (2009) 

Nominations to fill Board Positions Expiring at the End of 2009 
The terms of Board members Jerry Abrams and Melvin Wolfberg will expire at 

the end of this year. Melvin Wolfberg has asked to not be re-elected to the Board. 
Please submit your nominations for these two Board positions by June 15, 2009 to: 

David A. Goss, Hindsight Editor 
School of Optometry 
Indiana University 
Bloomington, IN 47405 

Fax: (812) 855-8664 
Email: dgoss@indiana.edu 

OHS members who receive at least three nominations and agree to serve on the 
Board will have their names placed on an election ballot to be mailed later this year with 
a copy of Hindsight. Self nominations are welcome and encouraged. 

Dues Notice 
A dues notice has been enclosed with this issue of Hindsight: Journal of 

Optometry History. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 2 



75th Anniversary of the Stiles-Crawford Effect(s): A 
Celebratory Special Symposium, October 23, 2008; 
Rochester, New York 

Jay M. Enoch, O.D., Ph.D., Dr.s Sci. (h.c.) 
Professor of the Graduate School, Dean Emeritus, School of Optometry, University of 
California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-2020, jmenoch@berkeley.edu 

Vasudevan "Vengu" Lakshminarayanan, Ph.D. 
Professor of Optometry, Physics, and Electrical Engineering, School of Optometry, 
University of Waterloo, Waterloo , Ontario N2V 2V8, Canada, vengu@uwaterloo.ca> 

Abstract 
There are rather few articles which, so-to-speak, serve to change the landscape 

in a scientific field. One of those was the discovery of the "directional sensitivity of the 
retina" by Walter Stanley Stiles and Brian Hewson Crawford (first reported in 1933). 
Subsequently, their findings were subdivided by Hansen into two logical components, 
"the Stiles-Crawford Effects of the First and Second Kinds, (SCE-1 and SCE-2)." The 
former (SCE-1) dealt with aspects of their research which addressed alterations in 
perceived brightness of a visual stimulus; the second (SCE-2) was associated with the 
perceived hue and saturation of these visual stimuli. 

These discoveries arose out of a failed attempt by WS. Stiles and B. H. Crawford 
to measure properly the areas of the entrance pupils of their experimental subjects as 
part of a research program which addressed problems of glare, e.g., disability glare, in 
illuminating engineering. Their research was conducted at the National Physical 
Laboratory (NPL), which is located in Teddington, Middlesex, England. These two fine 
scientists properly deduced the reason for the failure of their experimental design, and 
they effectively described and defined a new feature of the visual system which was 
largely ascribed to the retina. In time, it was realized that this phenomenon was 
associated in large measure with the waveguide/fiber-optics properties of 
photoreceptors, and that this was a feature shared by virtually all vertebrate species. 

This paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, Enoch describes, as best he 
can, the culture and working conditions at NPL during 1959/60 when he served as a 
post-doctoral fellow with W S. Stiles. And in the second part of this paper, the authors 
describe the findings of W S. ·Stiles and B. H. Crawford at the time of their discovery. 

Today, we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of that research. The organizing 
committee for this program (alphabetically) is David Atchison, Jay M. Enoch, 
Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, and Pieter Walraven. Our group of speakers today will 
follow with discussions of aspects of subsequent work which has evolved from the initial 
discoveries made by the late WS. Stiles and B.H. Crawford. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 3 



Introduction 
Today, we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of research conducted by Walter 

Stanley Stiles and Brian Hewson Crawford. The report of this research appeared in the 
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London in 1933.1 Subsequently, their discovery 
became known as the Stiles-Crawford Effect of the first kind (SCE-1 ). Some years after 
this research had been reported, the speaker had opportunity to serve as a post­
doctoral fellow (in 1959-1960) with Walter "Stanley" Stiles at the National Physical 
Laboratory (NPL). This fine institution is located in Teddington, Middlesex, U.K., and 
lies within "Bushy Park", the large Royal Preserve attached to Hampton Court Palace. 
Hampton Court Palace is located a bit upstream from the Teddington Locks on the 
Thames River. While at that laboratory, JME also had opportunity to get to know quite 
well Brian H. Crawford, James M. Burch, Frank J.J. Clarke, David A. Palmer, and quite 
a number of others at NPL. There, he also had opportunity to meet the then NPL 
Director G.B.B.M. Sutherland as well as John Guild. Guild was then quite elderly and 
retired. Guild's NPL colorimetric data coupled with contributions made by W.O. Wright 
played an important role in the development of the C.I.E. standard color matching data 
for VJ.... 

While in England, Jay and Mrs. Enoch were invited by Stanley Stiles to attend 
a meeting at the Royal Institution in London and to hear Prof. F.Z. Young speak. He 
described and demonstrated the experiments of Thomas Young (that is, he used the 
original apparatuses of his forebear Thomas Young, who had been associated with the 
Royal Institution). Separately, several times, Enoch visited the laboratories and libraries 
at the Institute of Ophthalmology in London where he met Sir Stewart Duke-Elder, 
Robert Weale, Katherine Tansley, H. Dartnall, etc. He also had opportunity to visit with 
Profs. Arnold Sorsby and Hamilton Hartridge at the Royal College of Surgeons. 
Subsequently, and to his surprise, Hartridge kindly willed his card and reprint files to 
Enoch (these maintained and updated materials now reside in the library of the Elite 
School of Optometry, a unit of the Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India). At 
City University in London, JME came to know Prof. Robert Fletcher, then Director, and a 
number of his faculty. During two extended visits to the Cambridge University 
Physiological Laboratories, he met and interacted with Sir Bryan H. C. Matthews, Alan L. 
Hodgkin, Fergus Campbell, Giles Brindley, Horace Barlow, etc. (Note, William Rushton 
was not in residence at the time). JME also visited with W.O. Wright at Imperial 
College, and R.W. Ditchburn and D. H. Fender at the University of Redding. 

Clearly, this was a period of time when quite a number of physicists and visual 
scientists in Great Britain were active in colorimetry, lighting research, radiometry and 
photometry, as well as in other aspects of visual psychophysics and physiology. And 
there were quite a number of additional distinguished scholars active in studies of the 
physiology of vision. These individuals brought very special skills to their research, and 
this, in turn, enriched interdisciplinary, or what today might be termed translational 
research. In general, one might argue that this time period was "golden" for vision 
science in England! JME was very lucky to have had an opportunity to meet many 
members of this fine, active, and then dominant scientific group. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 4 



Thus, JME was in residence in Teddington roughly 26/27 years after the initial 
discovery of SCE-1. Sadly, few of the other students and scientists remain who had 
opportunity to work early on this and related topics with Stanley Stiles and/or Brian 
crawford at Teddington. JME hopes some of them are here today! 

In early September, 1959, as Enoch left Washington University in St. Louis to 
travel to Teddington to start his Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the National Physical 
Laboratory, he was handed his just-delivered work permit. In that document, he had 
been appointed a "Consultant to Her Majesty's Government". When he arrived with his 
family in Southampton, as is appropriate, he presented their passports and documents 
to the Immigration Officer. This Officer took one look at JME's work permit as a 
"Consultant to Her Majesty's Government", and said to him, "Cor! Blimey! What God­
dammed fool is coming here to work for this God-dammed Government!" Thus, 
properly-chastened, JME, his wife, and their then two children, aged 2 and 4, arrived in 
England. 

With his family settled-into a residence on Cambridge Street in Teddington, JME 
remembers walking daily through this still shrapnel-scarred town (this was about 15 
years after WWII) to report for work at the National Physical Laboratory. On his first day 
at work, Stanley Stiles graciously received him into his office (which he was to share), 
but indicated he had to submit an urgent report that day, and asked JME to introduce 
himself to the several individuals working at the Light Division of NPL. He did so, and at 
one point came to the laboratory of a gentleman with short-cropped white hair who was 
seated at his desk. Before JME could introduce himself, he turned to JME and said, 
"How is it that you didn't come to work with me?" Enoch said, "Sir, may I ask, who you 
are?" He responded, "I am Crawford." Enoch replied, "Am I not to work with you?" 
Thus, Enoch learned (sadly) that Stiles and Crawford were not the close partners they 
had been in earlier years. So-saying, both of these gentlemen were extremely kind to 
him (and his family) - in fact, they could not have been nicer! He learned a great deal 
from them both, and became close friends with them and their families. 

Walter Stanley Stiles was one of a number of individuals named Walter Stiles in 
his family (5 are cited). Hence, family and friends came to call him by his middle name, 
"Stanley". Mathew Alpern wrote the Biographical Memoir of Stiles for the Royal Society 
of London.2•3 There he discusses Stiles' family and their history. His older sister, Grace 
Etheridge, stated to Mat, "they were of yeoman stock, and had qualities of honesty of 
purpose which people of the times seemed to possess." 

Stiles' dad retired at age 54 after a career spent in the Metropolitan Police. He 
died at the age of 101! JME met Stiles' dad on 2 or 3 occasions when he visited 
Stanley Stiles at his office. His dad was then well into his 90's (had JME known that 
then, he would not have believed it!). His dad was taller than Stanley, and was well­
built, with ample white hair. He remembers that he had very large and very strong 
hands, and seemed quite athletic. Enoch could readily appreciate the reference to 
"yeoman stock" mentioned by Stiles' sister. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 5 



The NPL experience was quite incredible. In his introductory Memorial to Walter 
Stanley Stiles presented at the Stiles-Wyszecki Memorial Symposium on Color Vision 
Models, held in 1987, Mathew Alpern3 commented upon first seeing Stiles' NPL 
Trichromator, "My first impression of this elegant instrument was so memorable, that 25 
years later I devoted a sabbatical year to experiments on its Canadian off-spring".3 

Westheimer called it the "cyclotron of vision research".3 JME was equally impressed 
and overwhelmed, and he truly valued the extraordinary opportunity given to him which 
allowed him to reassemble a good bit of the instrument (2 tiers), to align, and to 
recalibrate this remarkable three-tier instrument while he was in residence at the 
National Physical Laboratory Figs. 1 ,2. Skills learned in these highly demanding 
activities benefited the writer throughout his entire research career. When this task was 
completed, he was to work both at length as experimenter and subject on this 
remarkable device in joint studies with Stiles.5 This device had been used for color 
matches for 2° and 1 0° field diameter standard observer measurements, for 
determination of Stiles' two color increment threshold "rr" functions, for SCE-1 
measurements (of white light, and monochromatic light stimuli, and SCE-2 hue and 
saturation data). Fig. 1 is a schematic of the optical plan for the three tiers of the NPL 
Trichromator.4 Fig. 2 shows the optical changes made to two tiers of this instrument for 
Stiles' and Enoch's research on the Stiles-Crawford effects SCE-1 and SCE-2 (see 
below).5 

Enoch had never even heard of a near-two-story-high, enclosed optical device 
for vision testing. The only other self-enclosed stand-alone equipment or test rooms 
JME had encountered were the chambers used for dark adaptation and other studies in 
Selig Hecht's laboratory at Columbia University, and they were of modest size. 
Although quite different in complexity and application, he suspects one might place 
"leaf-rooms" designed by Adelbert Ames and co-workers at the Dartmouth Eye Institute 
(and the distorted rooms employed there as well) in the same general category. The 
latter were used for testing and correcting aniseikonia and for educating individuals as 
to the spatial distortions encountered in aniseikonia. 

The basement of the building housing the Light Division at NPL contained an 
enormous assembly of large wet-cell batteries forever being recharged and maintained 
by a team of scurrying technicians. Each research laboratory in the Light Division was 
assigned a private bank of batteries to power test lamps employed. On the main floor, 
there was a giant switch-board (really a switch-wall) which each morning could be 
reached by available tall rolling step-ladders. Into an assigned porthole, one inserted a 
large cone-shaped solid metal connecter with an insulated knob handle. This served to 
open one's designated circuit (and this circuit was closed again at night by removing 
same). After making this connection, one went upstairs to one's laboratory to close a 
private, giant knife-switch which would then deliver the desired power to one's lamps in 
the laboratory. The stability and accuracy of these circuits was just extraordinary! 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 6 



~----=--=::.::..-----·· . . ----. ------·- - ··--------- --.... ._ ......... ____ --------

Figure 1. Isometric sketch of NPL trichromator. 

Figure 1. The NPL Trichromator: This drawing provides the reader with some idea of the 
optical layout of the three tiers of this remarkable instrument. The double monochromators are 
readily visible on each tier. The beams are bought together for viewing at the level of the middle 
tier. Each tier has associated with it a separate well controlled lamp, and an independent 
balanced glass neutral density wedge was provided for each selected portion of the spectrum on 
each tier. The scales are read and adjusted to the desired calibrated value. Note, lamps were 
replaced on a regular schedule, that is, they were replaced before they exhibited even modest 
instability. All data were readily read out by the technician who sets up the experiment for the 
subject. The head/eye location of the subject is held at the appropriate location by a bite 
bar/head-rest assembly. Observer position, pupil size, etc. were monitored/adjusted and recorded 
repeatedly. (This figure is reproduced with the permission of The Physical Society of London. It 
is taken from W.S. Stiles' Thomas Young Oration.4) 

Many, but not all, optical units used at NPL were designed and built in-house. In 
the case of the "NPL Trichromator", 4•5 this included the double monochromators in each 
of three tiers. The Light Division had their own stock of glass from various 
batches/melts, each with defined features (index, dispersion, etc.). A team of design 
personnel would come in to aid scientists design lenses, prisms, lens/component 
holders, attachments, etc., as requested. These designs then were fabricated in-house. 
These fine products provided excellent control of aberrations and image quality. One 
could not help but be impressed! 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... Januwy, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 7 



Vc-ri•CO I !t«l ion thf'OU9h 

X X normal to the main 

ray path~ 

I 
i 
!X 

(a) 

-~-J-- ...;--L-- -§'<.->--~---- -1>-
- - -- I I - - - - ':J..- - - - - ::r 

---- ~- - - - ;- - -. ~ .... 0 

L2 D1 ~ Ll 

I 
I 
I _______ [__ __]_L/1 __ 1.47 

-~ -----~---- I 
tlor ----1 ---- 1 

------- -- -- -
FIMI 

Trt-I<Jf 
collimators. 

Uit lfib Post nit slit 
collimators • 

Figure 3. Diagrams showing adaptation of trichromator for directional colour-change 
measurements. 

Figure 2. The NPL Trichromator: Specific optical modifications made to the NPL Trichromator 
for the purposes of measuring the SCE-1 and SCE-2 in 1959 for the research ofW.S. Stiles and 
J.M. Enoch.5 Also see Fig. 8, below. (This figure is reproduced with the permisson of the 
surviving author, and the publishers ofOpticaActa.5) 

Separately, the superb spectrometer, microscope, camera, and precision 
turntable with which JME was provided at NPL were commercial products. He used 
these to study the then remarkable single and double fiber optics elements with 
cladding which were provided to him by Drs. Elias Snitzer and Harold Osterberg of the 
then American Optical Corporation in Southbridge, Massachusetts. The ratio of the 
index of refraction of these optical fibers and the index of their cladding was similar to 
the index ratio values encountered in vertebrate photoreceptors relative to their interstial 
matrix. The diameters (not lengths) of these fibers were also similar to those 
encountered in vertebrate photoreceptors.6•7 Based upon these detailed studies, Enoch 
knew exactly what to examine when he returned to St. Louis and applied similar 
techniques to the study of vertebrate retinal receptors as fiber optics elements and 
waveguides (including study of human retinas).7-12 

Some years ago, one of our vision scientists (well-intentioned no doubt!) claimed 
in a paper that he had built the finest-ever Stiles-Crawford device! JME has never have 
known how to respond to this statement. None (few?) of us has had available such 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 8 



resources as existed at NPL, and our NIH budgets did not let us build comparable 
devices. I and others (including this gentleman) have tried to do our very best, but the 
services offered, and the quality of products provided at NPL was just of a different 
class than that which has been available to most all of the rest of us. So saying, JME 
was particularly blessed to have been associated with first class instrument­
makers/machinists and electronics engineers at each of his posts. 

At NPL Enoch learned that fine optical-system-alignment is both a true art as well 
as a science, and it required great patience, perseverance, and dedication. The 
standards to which we were held in alignment and precision at NPL were such that, at 
times, JME found that he had to excuse himself, in order to relieve tension, so that he 
might continue to function properly. 

One rather interesting feature of Stiles' laboratory was the bite-bar-file-drawer in 
the laboratory where the "NPL Trichromator" was located. Each bite bar of each subject 
was retained, it was "carefully filed away", properly labeled, and cleaned regularly with 
great care. Stiles deliberated as to placement of these individual bite bars within his 
collection. It was a veritable "Who's Who of Vision Science". As a relatively young 
scientist (then age 31), JME was most proud of his bite bar being located between 
George Wald's and Deane B. Judd's. 

One assigned task was drilling a precise x-y grid of screw holes in a two inch 
thick sheet of steel. These plates had origin as spares for one of Britain's battleships 
during WWII. Today, almost everyone uses this sort of optical benches, but they are 
not two inches thick, and they are not made of case-hardened steel. So saying, the job 
was done, and JME's shoulders ached for weeks. This was his first exposure to this 
sort of optical bench, and difficult as it was, he must admit, he was much impressed by 
this form of base upon which to build optical instruments (in comparison to the rods or 
triangular structures widely used at that time). 

In stark contrast to all of the above, some of the support services provided at 
NPL were, at best, rudimentary. There was no stapler, rather we were each given a 
common tailor's pin to make a hole, and short pieces of thread or yarn were provided to 
pass though (or be pushed through) the pinhole in order to join/tie two (or more) pieces 
of paper together. Pencils were sharpened with a razor blade. And one used ink wells 
and pens with disposable pen-points. Paper provided to most of us was unlined, 
yellowed with age, and rather brittle ... only the most senior people received lined paper! 
Etc. 

Walter Stanley Stiles and Brian Hewson Crawford; The Directional Sensitivity of 
the Retina 

Walter Stanley Stiles, June 15, 1901- December 15, 1985: Stanley was 
London born, and he was the youngest of two children. His dad worked for the 
Metropolitan Police. Clearly, there were only limited resources for Stanley's education. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 9 



When one reads Alpern's biographical sketch(es) of W.S. Stiles for the Royal Society,2•3 

one senses that Stiles was searching to find the right path for his future career. Stiles 
had great mathematical facility. Mat Alpern made a key point in his writings, " ... without 
the advantage of education at one of the great English Public Schools which nurtured 
his country's scientific and intellectual elite, and largely not recognized throughout his 
working life, he nonetheless changed the face of color science as only a few of his 
predecessors managed."2•3 Stiles' contributions were broad, and he received a number 
of honors, and justly so! Figure 3 is a fine portrait ofW.S. Stiles.2 

Figure 3. Walter Stanley Stiles, Ph.D., F.R.S., O.B.E. June 15, 1901- Dec. 15, 1985. 
(Photograph of Walter Stanley Stiles taken by photographer Walter Bird, 1960. This photograph 
is reproduced with perrnisson of the Royal Society. It appeared in the Memoirs of Fellows of the 
Royal Society 34: 816-885, 1988.) 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 10 



Giles Brindley, in his book on the retina, 13 selected Stiles as his model for a Class 
A scientist. Stiles' precision, attention to detail, careful formulations, and his approach 
to research were exemplary, and in the classic style. The results were elegant. So 
saying, Brindley's definition of a Class A scientist did not necessarily imply best, or that 
this form or research was the preferred format; rather, Brindley argued that there was 
more than one approach to answering scientific questions. In this same context, Hans 
Goldmann's paper proving the SCE-1 was largely retinal in origin 14 is an excellent 
example of Brindley's type B category of research. 13 For the graduate student, it is 
indeed worth seeking an understanding of these differences in experimental design, 
methodology, and procedure in scientific studies. 13·14 Working in Stiles' office for that 
year, JME came to appreciate how very thorough Stiles was in his approach to 
questions asked. The care taken in analyses, his clear search for the right and 
definitive path in his experiments and quantitative solutions, were just exemplary. 

Brian Hewson Crawford, March 26, 1909- May 5, 1991: Brian Crawford was 
an only child whose father died early in his life. Brian was educated at John Lyons 
Lower School at Harrow, and University College, London. He became a physicist and 
spent much of his professional life at NPL. He worked there from 1927 (apparently 
starting at age 18!) until September 30, 1966. After retirement from NPL, he was 
associated for a number of years with the Conservation Department of the National 
Gallery of Art; he taught color science and conducted research at the U. of Edinburgh; 
he was affiliated with the Paint Research Association; with Imperial College, London, 
and with the Institute of Ophthalmology, London. Brian was unquestionably a first-rate 
scientist, and a hard and diligent worker! He was awarded the Newton Medal of the 
Colour Group. Figure 4 is a good portrait of B. H. Crawford. 

After joining NPL, Crawford's career was linked for many years to that of Stanley 
Stiles (who was about 8 years older than him). Together they worked on a variety of 
research associated with lighting, glare, etc., before their landmark research on SCE-1, 
and SCE-2.1 Separately, in 1947, Crawford published in Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond., an 
important paper on the visual "onset" of a luminous stimulus which is known variously 
as either "The Crawford effect", or "Crawford masking". JME first encountered this 
phenomenon in 1953 when he was conducting research with Robert Boynton which 
examined glare and the effects of a displaced glare source upon increment thresholds 
measured at a distance (a few degrees) from that source. Both onset and offset of the 
glare stimulus were considered. 15•16 When making such determinations, initially, it 
appears as if the sensitivity of the visual system is affected before the onset of a light 
source! This is not some intuitive appreciation of an impending stimulus, or a change in 
stimulus; rather, this is due to the relatively rapid transmission of onset-of-stimulus-data 
to the central nervous system where it is detected in advance of more steady state 
response(s). A rather similar phenomenon is also detected prior to the offset of a 
luminous stimulus. 15•16 Crawford also provided valuable research on the definition of V11'. 

the CIE scotopic spectral response function. When JME was at NPL, Brian was 
performing very interesting studies on color rendering, which was a major interest of his. 
Dr. David Palmer of NPL prepared a fine obituary of Brian Crawford.17 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 11 



Figure 4. Brian Hewson Crawford, Ph.D. March 26, 1909- 1991. (This photograph of 
Crawford was kindly provided by Dr. Pieter Walraven, the Netherlands. Dr. Crawford served at 
NPL from 1927 to September 30, 1966.) 

In the first section of this paper (above), the speaker sought to give a sense of 
the atmosphere and culture at NPL where Stiles and Crawford made their landmark 
discoveries.1.4·5•18-20 Obviously, JME was not at N.P.L. in 1933; i.e., rather, as noted, he 
arrived in 1959. In 1933, Stiles and Crawford were then involved in conducting 
research and setting standards associated with requirements of illuminating 
engineering.1 

As part of their research program, Stiles and Crawford designed a rather simple 
and straight-forward pupillometer to determine the area of an observer's entrance pupil. 1 

The observer viewed a bipartite field (the outer boundary of which was limited by 
aperture "D" in Fig. Sa Top). One beam (forming the upper portion of the bipartite field) 
passed through the center of the observer's entrance pupil (a Maxwellian view system 
design was used for this beam; it subtended 1.5 em. diameter in the entrance pupil of 
the observer's eye), and the second beam of uniform irradiance in the plane of the 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 12 



entrance pupil of the eye was self-limited by the observer's eye pupil (this is the beam 
having origin in Fig. Sa .at the ~palescent diffusing glass "o:· ~~rmo.unted by the right­
angle prism (Top Drawtng of Ftg. S, or Sa). [Note 1.: The dtvtdtng hne between the two 
hemi-fields fields was formed by the upper edge of the right angle prism ("Prism", 
located near the center of the instrument in the top of Fig. Sa. Note 2.: In Figure Sb 
(Middle of Fig. S), the diffusing opalescent glass is designated as D.] One assumes the 
experimenter viewed the subject's eye ("E" in Fig. Sa, top) through the 40 em. open-top­
area of the device. 

This device just didn't work as predicted! Stiles and Crawford had 
expected/predicted that all parts of the eye pupil contributed equally to the perceived 
brightness of the lower hemi-field. "It appeared that even when the pupil was fully 
extended and had a diameter of about 8 mm, the value derived by the above method 
never exceeded S.S mm."1 And, "After all conceivable instrumental errors had been 
investigated, it was concluded that the discrepancy was due to the fact that the 
apparent brightness of an object is not proportional to the pupil area because the rays 
entering the pupil at points distant from the axis are not so effective visually as rays 
entering along or near to the axis."1 A quantitative study of the effect was then 
undertaken, and for this purpose, at some point in time, the pupillometer shown in Fig. S 
was superceded by a second device, with Maxwellian fields being used for both 
beams." See Fig. 6. 

The second instrument used by Stiles and Crawford employed a classical two­
path or "two-armed" Maxwellian-beam-system to define and to maintain control over 
each of the two required test fields. A single light source was employed. They used a 
chopper to alternate between these two fields in order to allow the observer to make a 
suitable flicker match between the two stimuli. They point out that this device can be 
employed either for making flicker matches of the two fields (as shown in the Fig. 6), or 
for use as a bipartite field matching device ("equality of brightness method") as shown 
at the bottom of Fig. S, with a modest alteration(s) in the design. Note, in Fig. 6, 
apertures A1 and A2 are focused in the entrance pupil of the eye. For example, the 
location of aperture A2 can be translated away from the center of the observer's 
entrance pupil. The field stops are apertures 0 1 and 0 2, are designed to be conjugate 
with the retina. The paired double diffusers (01 and 0 3), and (02 and 0 4) provide near 
uniform luminous fields for each of the two light paths. The surfaces of 0 3 and 0 4 

represent the locations of the effective light source for each of these two light paths. 
The image of small aperture A1 is centered in the entrance pupil of the eye at all times 
during the experiment. Aperture A2 can be translated in the entrance pupil plane of the 
eye to test what has been termed "the directional sensitivity of the retina," or the Stiles­
Crawford effect of the first kind (SCE-1 ).1 Both horizontal and vertical translations were 
possible/made. In order to obtain a match by either method, the luminance of this field 
can be assessed by adjusting the density of the neutral density wedge (W). Note, one 
assumes these capable scientists used a balanced neutral density wedge. That is, 
balanced neutral density glass wedges were employed for each individual-beam-path in 
the NPL Trichromator (Figs. 1,2.). 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 13 



Walter Stanley Stiles 827 

between two fields; the light reaching the retina from one of these 
depended upon the area of the pupil (A), whereas the light reaching the 
retina from the other was independent of A. Figure 1 at the top illustrates 
the final ''ersion of this instrument developed and used by Stiles & 
Crawford (22). Light from the source diffused bl the opal glass 0 was 
reflected by the prism to fill the hole E in the centre of which the subject's 
pupil was centred. From this same source, light illuminated a ground 
glass, a variable attenuator neutral wedge W and the small circular 
aperture stop P. The lens formed an image of I' 1.5 mm in diameter in the 
plane of the subject's entrance pupil (so that the lens is seen filled with 
light in 1\·Iaxwellian view). If the diameter of the subject'$ pupil is at least 
1.5 mm, all the light in this second path is collected by the eye. The two 
homogeneous fields (below on the left) are divided by the edge of the 
prism: the brightness of the upper field is independent of, and thut of the 
lower field is dependent upon, the area of the subject's pupil (A). The 
subject adjusts the transmissivity setting T of the variable wedge W for a 

w 

~ G~-·~ 
"' ~h 

:e 0~---~h· 
(C) r (<l) 

Fwces L Photometric pupillometer. Top: actual teet:ion; (o) fidd suhdivt.ion; (b) r•Y 
di~gram; •c) ray di&gtflrn for travtraefi. (Repl"()duc~d, ":ith permiStthm, from &i. P,fMJ., 0~, 
33, 676489 (1939) .,,d A••· R. Coli. S.•g. 311, 73-101 (1962).) (20, 40. 89). 

" 

Figure 5. This illustration was taken from the 1933 published paper by W.S. Stiles and B.H. 
Crawford. 1 The pupillometer designed by these two scientists is shown. Measurements of 
entrance pupil area provided by this device were incorrect. W.S. Stiles' and B.H. Crawford's 
proper interpretation ofthese data led to the formulation of the "directional sensitivity of the 
retina", later known as the Stiles- Crawford effect ofthe first kind (SCE-1)?1 (Permission to 
reproduce this figure has been received from the Royal Society of London.) 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 14 



Figure 6. This figure shows the design of the first instrument used to make determinations of 
SCE-1. It was also taken from the 1933 paper. 1 This was a dual-path Maxwellian view device. 
As configured, it provides alternate exposure for each of the two light paths; this makes possible 
a flicker photometric method of matching the perceived brightnesses of the two channels. 
(Permission to reproduce this figure has been received from the Royal Society of London.) 

Dr. W.S. Duke-Elder of the Institute of Ophthalmology, London, recommended 
that Stiles and Crawford employ the mydriatic, euthalmine hydrochloride (this mydriatic 
only very weakly affects accommodation of the observer). 1 JME notes Stiles used this 
same mydriatic when he was in residence at N.P.L. in 1959-1960.5 JME, in turn, used it 
for many years in his laboratory. It is not clear whether this pharmaceutical agent is still 
available? That is, some years later, it became very hard to obtain this agent (in the 
1980s, it was only possible to obtain this formulation at a single pharmacy in San Jose 
in the San Francisco Bay Area). Other pharmaceutical mydriatic agents were 
satisfactorily substituted. 

The first SCE-1 data sets presented in their manuscript were obtained from the 
eyes of Brian Crawford (these comprise Fig. 4, Stiles &Crawford, 1933), 1 [please see 
Fig. 7, this paper]. The results in the horizontal meridian in each of Brian Crawford's 
two eyes presented in Fig. 7 were remarkably similar, but data obtained in B.H.C.'s 
vertical meridians did differ somewhat. Knowing these two investigators well, more than 
one data set was included here, or at least they satisfied themselves as to the near 
identity of these data with other data obtained previously. These were extremely careful 
investigators, and they no doubt reflected the existing culture at NPL We will not 
repeat the contents of the remainder of the 1933 paper here. Rather, we urge the 
reader to peruse the whole as it is a landmark contribution to vision science. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 15 



~~~ 
~ -r·-7 P\ I 

·9 - ·--- -If X 
)( 

·8 L t'l. 

I \ • •7 
~ ~I \ I 
-~ 

~ ·6 

!f -·' ~ 
[1 0 

~ ·5 . 

/. _\ ·4: 
lt.J 
~ ·4 
~ 

v- \ .... 
~ ~ --' -·- - (;! ....., 

" 

"" ~ 
·2 -}:: -- !i'-

~ j 
a:; ·I -· -----· t--·-·· ··-

NASA ~ 7E:J b.POR.t" '--
OS 4 .3 I 0 I 2 J 4 

.. POINT OF ENTRY OF BEAM_ dIN MH . 

Fm. 4.-Horizonta.l traverse, subject B.H.C. 0 right eye; X left eye. 

Figure 7. These are the first set of SCE-1 data included in the 1933 paper. 1 Data were obtained 
from the right and left eyes of subject B.H. Crawford. Note, the abscissa here defines the 
locations of the moveable test beam in the entrance pupil ofB.H.C.'s eyes for nasal and temporal 
settings of that imaged aperture-stop relative to the center of the entrance pupils of each of his 
two eyes. Thus, one set of these data were reversed (left-right) relative to the other one. 
Crawford's data in the vertical direction were not quite the same in the two eyes. (Permission to 
reproduce this figure has been received from the Royal Society of London.) 

Before proceeding, it is important to make a point about reading the classic 
papers of these two fine gentlemen, particularly papers by Stiles. In one sense, one 
can think of them as "multi-layered". Each individual, by taking some time, can come to 
appreciate their content. Yet, if one puts these papers aside for a bit of time, then re­
reads them, one finds there is far more content than was appreciated during the first 
reading. If one re-reads these manuscripts again a year or so later, one appreciates 
added points, etc. That is, these papers seem to grow with time, and with one's own 
maturity in dealing with the subject at hand. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 16 



In general, seminal papers defining the Stiles-Crawford effect of the first kind 
(SCE-1) and the Stiles-Crawford effect of the second kind (SCE-2) were the following: 

Walter Stanley Stiles, Brian Hewson Crawford. The luminous efficiency of 
rays entering the eye pupil at different points. Proc Roy Soc Lond B 
1933;112: 428-450. (SCE-1)1 

Walter Stanley Stiles. Luminous efficiency of monochromatic rays entering 
the eye pupil at different points and a new color effect. Proc Roy Soc Lond B 
1937;123: 90-118. (SCE-1)18 

Brian Hewson Crawford. The luminous efficiency of light entering the eye 
pupil at different points and its relationship to brightness threshold 
measurements. Roy Soc Lond B 1937;124: 81-96. (SCE-1)19 

Walter Stanley Stiles. The directional sensitivity of the retina and the spectral 
sensitivities of the rods and cones. Proc Roy Soc Lond B 1939; 127: 64 -105. 
(SCE-1, SCE-2)20 

G. Hanson. Zur Kenntnis des physiolischen apertur Farbeffekts (Stiles­
Crawford Effect II Art). Die Naturwiss. 1943;35/36: 416. (Among other 
matters, in this brief paper, Hanson differentiated between the SCE-1 and 
SCE-2 effects.)21 

Walter Stanley Stiles. The basic data of colour-matching: 181h Thomas Young 
Oration. Year Book, Phys. Soc. 1955:44-65. (In this Oration, the 
"Trichromator" was described in some detail.) (SCE-1, SCE-2) Note, this 
instrument was not employed in the original studies of SCE-1.4 

Jay M. Enoch, Walter Stanley Stiles, The colour change of monochromatic 
light with retinal angle of incidence. Optica Acta1961; 8: 329-358. (SCE-1, 
SCE-2)5 

Others of Stiles' and Crawford's fine papers might be listed here, i.e., quite a 
number of these were of considerable importance(!), but the few manuscripts listed 
above speak to the origins, and early development of our understanding of the Stiles­
Crawford effects, per se. 

Since those early studies, we have come to appreciate the waveguide nature of 
photoreceptor optics;e.g., 6"12 the remarkable stability of SCE-1 functions over many 
years; 22-23 factors inducing changes in SCE-1 such as tractional strains (marked 
accommodation);24-27 G-forces; physical changes following traumatic "insults" (and 
recovery from same),28 recoveries from retinal detachments,9 ·9·• 29 the presence of 
weakened scleral walls and extended ocular growth, often associated with the high 
myopias (e.g., overlap of functional retina and choroid onto the nasal side of optic nerve 
heads, and induction of transient orientation alterations),30 the presence of a very 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 17 



different "second" orientation scheme discovered in a rare few eyes/individuals (a 
tendency for center-of-the-eye-pointing as opposed to the more normal center-of-the­
exit-pupil-of the eye pointing);, 31 induction of altered alignments induced by use of a 
displaced eye-pupil using a painted-iris-contact-lens, and recovery of orientation from 
both transient and induced changes, 32-33 etc. Much of this material, including work from 
a number of other laboratories, has been brought together in two books. 34·35 

Additional aspects of this set of discoveries have been studied/described, but it 
would take a separate major manuscript to consider these many efforts. Included in 
such a document would also be the relatively recently defined "optical SCE effect."e·9·•36-

38 The latter examines the reflection of energy back through the retina and retinal 
receptor waveguides. That back-reflected energy is sampled and assessed in the 
entrance pupil of the observer's eye (which images the exit pupil of the eye). 

We include the paper by Enoch and Stiles in the list of citations above, because it 
provides necessary data needed to advance our understanding of SCE-2. Stiles and 
JME had a delayed start upon their studies on SCE-1 and SCE-2, due largely to the fact 
that the NPL Trichromator (as noted above) had been substantially disassembled in 
order to make necessary modifications which would allow them to ensure proper 
experimental controls, and to make possible necessary measurements for their SCE-2 
studies conducted on the Trichromator. 

As a result, JME's post-doctoral period at NPL was divided into three segments. 
(1) While the Trichromator was disassembled and two tiers were being restructured, he 
spent this time period at NPL both studying the applicable literature, and investigating E. 
Snitzer's and H. Osterberg's glass fiber optics elements which had a number of 
properties similar to those of photoreceptors. The speaker might point out that Stiles 
was also quite fascinated with the properties of the Snitzer and Osterberg fibers which 
JME was analyzing and studying. Stiles often spent time examining them as well. 
Having had opportunity to perform this very meaningful introductory activity, JME was 
then ready to apply similar techniques to direct study of the optics of photo receptors 
shortly after his return to St. Louis in 1960. 6-12·34 Both Drs. Katherine Tansley at the 
Institute of Ophthalmology and Brian Crawford advised JME on appropriate design of 
wet cells for studying retinal receptors when performing these studies. (2) Re­
assembling, aligning, and calibrating the NPL Trichromator (mentioned above). (3) 
Conducting research on SCE-1, and SCE-2 using the NPL Trichromator. The latter role 
included his serving extensively separately as experimenter and subject. Both James 
M. Burch (at NPL) and W.S. Stiles also served periodically as subjects in this endeavor. 

In his role as subject, J.M.E. first had to learn how to make the colorimetric 
determinations employed in the program of data collection. He then had to provide 
often repeated baseline data for SCE-1 and color matches at 17 selected loci about the 
spectrum locus (and for white light, and at a modest number of other sites sampled in 
each of his eyes. Interestingly, Stiles noted that JME's colorimetric data (at that time) 
most closely matched the C. I.E. Standard observer of any subject tested to that date.5 

Only after all of this, did JME enter into data collection of colorimetric matches for 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 18 



entrance pupil points located away from the pupil center. Day after long-day, during this 
time period, he worked extensively with Misses Pamela Fowler and Jeanne Vigil, Stiles' 
very able laboratory assistants. 

Because of the late completion of the active data collection phase, the analyses 
of these extensive data were deferred until after JME departed. Thus, most all 
subsequent advanced data analyses resulting from this research program were 
conducted by Stiles after JME's departure from Teddington. JME commented on the 
manuscript prepared by Stiles, and added material on assessments of the fiber optics 
elements kindly given to him by the gentlemen at the American Optical Corp. Stiles 
generously made JME first author! In subsequent years, JME has sought to follow this 
same generous tradition in his own laboratory. 

Some Comments on Color Matching in Studies of SCE II 
Because relatively small effects were being measured in the Enoch and Stiles 

research program,5 when making these color matches, one had to use special care, 
particularly when adding R,G, and/or B desaturating stimuli to the obliquely incident (at 
the retina) test field. Note, here, Stiles used R,G,and B rather than L,M, and S.5 The 
investigators wanted to be sure that responses recorded were in response to the 
obliquely incident test beam and were not biased by the sum of added desaturating 
stimuli. Moves made in color matching were executed carefully and repeated often! 

Primaries 

TestARGB RGB Te tA 
I I I I I I 
I I I I I I 
I I I I I I 
I I I I I I I 
I I I I I I I 

'" I Hl 
~~~ 

Comparison 1 Test 
stimulus 1 stimulus 

~ . 

Figure 8. This figure details the experimental arrangement employed when using the bipartite­
field test arrangement on the Trichromator in 1959-1960 in order to test for SCE-2 at NPL.5 

Note the oblique incidence of the test beam at the retina of the observer, while all other 
adjustable beams were incident normally in the at the retina (at fixation). See Fig. 2. (This figure 
is reproduced with the permisson of the surviving author, and the publishers of Optica Acta. 5) 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 19 



In the Enoch and Stiles paper (see Fig. 8, right side)5, control and desaturating 
stimuli were introduced through the entrance pupil of the eye at its center, and this locus 
was different from the ray path of the test stimulus (the latter was introduced at a 
location 3.5 mm from the center of the entrance pupil of the eye in the horizontal 
meridian). Thus, test and desaturating stimuli were incident at the retina at different 
angles of incidence. Simply stated, the effect on color matching of the obliquely incident 
(at the retina) test stimulus was sought, and hence the experimenters chose not to 
confound unnecessarily the result. 

In these experiments, rather small apertures were imaged in the entrance pupil of 
the eye. A central two degree, carefully aligned, and centrally fixated test visual field(s) 
was(were) employed. Within the two degree fields sampled, on a number of occasions, 
the observer encountered one or more small sub-areas within the test field with hues 
and saturations which were quite different from the larger 2° field. These small sub­
areas varied in saturation, and had demarcated boundaries. When making matches it 
was necessary to ignore effectively these small sub-areas and to attend the colorimetric 
properties of the larger and dominant field area considered. Even small head/eye 
movements would alter the sub-patterns. 

Prof. Robert Boynton (with Prof. Mitsuo Ikeda) followed Enoch as a guest(s) in 
Stiles' laboratory. Enoch earlier had worked with Boynton for some period of time in 
1953 at the U. of Rochester. 15·16 When questioned by JME, Boynton reported to Enoch 
that he had encountered these same sub-field area effects (re-affirmed by Boynton 
shortly before his recent death). Both Enoch and Boynton assumed these were due to 
sub-areas of receptors with a particular receptor bias or sub-groups of receptors with 
different alignments within the larger two degree test field area. 

A File Not Found? 
A true delight experienced by Enoch during his days at Teddington was having 

been given opportunity by Stanley Stiles to read carefully his voluminous 
correspondence file (JME guesses this was 5-6 inches thick!) with William Rushton 
assembled over many years. These two scientists clearly were very close friends! 
Each taught the other, and the reader very much appreciated the results of this in their 
individual research publications. 

As but one of many examples, Stiles provided Rushton with a replica tier from 
the Trichromator for his studies on color vision.2•4·5 The tutorials provided by Stiles to 
Rushton, and which discussed fine points regarding alignment and calibration, and 
utilization of this fine device were, to say the least, elegant. Over the years, these two 
scientists criticized each other constructively, each one brought their unique 
backgrounds to the table on different problems considered, and they mutually sought to 
expand the conceptual framework of arguments provided. There was much give and 
take in this correspondence. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry Histocy ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 20 



It is unfortunate that this fascinating (and important) correspondence seems to 
have been lost. Enoch called this material to the special attention of Prof. Mathew 
Alpern at the time Mat wrote the memorial/obituary of Stiles for the Royal Society of 
London.2•3 This file was apparently nowhere to be found! So said, Alpern did locate 
some bits of their correspondence, and these samples were discussed briefly in his 
obituary. 

In Closing 
JME and VL are most proud to have had a role in this worthy scientific endeavor, 

now 75 years old. We very much respect the work of both Stanley Stiles and Brian 
Crawford. JME personally appreciated their help, their many kindnesses, their advice, 
and their guidance. These were indeed fine/exceptional men and worthy mentors; their 
research has stood the test of time! JME and VL have been proud to pursue this 
subject matter throughout their careers, and they have sought to incorporate much 
learned from these gentlemen into their research. 

There remain problems to be solved, and opportunities for further pursuit both in 
terms of theory and application. As examples, it would be most useful to understand 
better the operant feedback system for receptor alignments, the anomalies encountered 
(and possible means of correcting these anomalies, and/or mitigating them), as well as 
the evolution of these rather remarkable properties. We have been surprised that the 
elegant biological-feedback-system evolved has not been more widely considered in 
modern applications of fiber optics. There is a need to develop more effective 
interactive models of this system, and so forth. Finally, we express frank amazement at 
the finely honed visual system with which we have all been endowed. Thank you. 

References 
1. Stiles WS, Crawford BH. The luminous efficiency of rays entering the eye pupil 

at different points. Proc Roy Soc Lond B 1933;112:428-450. 
2. Alpern M. Walter Stanely Stiles, 15 June1901-15 December 1985. 

Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1988;34:816-885. 
3. Alpern M. Walter Stanley Stiles, Memorial lecture. In: Stiles-Wyszecki 

Memorial Symposium on Color Vision Models, Florence, June 10-13, 1987. Gottingen, 
Zurich: Muster-Schmidt Verlag, 1989. ISSN 0014-7680,pp. 1-13. [U.C. Berkeley Library 
call number QP 483 S75 1989 OPTO.] 

4. Stiles WS. The basic data of colour-matching: 18th Thomas Young Oration. 
Year Book, Phys. Soc. 44-65, 1955. (A 2nd citation describes the volume as "Phys. 
Soc. Year Book".) Note, the abbreviation refers to the "Physics Society of London Year 
Book. Copies can be found in the California State Library, and the U. of Giessen, 
Germany. 

5. Enoch JM, Stiles WS. The colour change of monochromatic light with retinal 
angle of incidence. Optica Acta 1961 ;8:329-358. 

6. Enoch JM. Response of a model retinal receptor as a function of wavelength. J 
Opt Soc Am 1960;50: 315-320. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 21 



7. Enoch JM. Waveguide modes: Are they present, and what is their possible 
role in the visual mechanism? J Opt Soc Am 1960;50: 1025-1026. Note 1, early on, it 
was suggested by G. Toraldo di Francia, and Brian O'Brien and others that fiber optics 
and waveguide properties were present in retinal receptors. Note 2, JME was privileged 
to attend a debate on this topic presented by these two gentlemen at U. of Rochester, 
NY, in 1953. 

8. Enoch JM. Waveguide modes: Are they present, and what is their possible 
role in the visual mechanism? J Opt Soc Am 1960;50:1025-1026. 

9. Enoch JM. Waveguide modes in retinal receptors. Science 1961;133:1353-
1354. 

10. Enoch JM. Visualization of wave-guide modes in retinal receptors, Am J 
Ophthalmoi1961;51(Part 11):1107-1118. 

11. Enoch JM. Nature of the transmission of energy in the retinal receptors. J Opt 
Soc Am 1961 ;51 :1122-1126. 

12. Enoch JM. Optical properties of retinal receptors. J Opt Soc Am 1963;53:71-
85. 

13. Brindley GS. Chapter 4, Class A & B Experiments, In: Physiology of the 
Retina and the Visual Pathway, 1st ed. Monographs of the Physiological Society, No.6; 
London: Edward Arnold Publisher, 1960:144-150. (In the 2nd Edition, 1970, same 
publisher, see Chapter 5, pp. 132-138.) 

14. Goldmann H. Stiles-Crawford Effekt. Ophthalmologica 103: 225-229, 1942. 
15. Boynton RM, Bush WR, Enoch JM. Rapid changes in foveal sensitivity 

resulting from direct and indirect adapting stimuli. J Opt Soc Am 1954;44:56-60. 
16. Boynton RM, Enoch JM, William R. Bush. Physical measures of stray light in 

excised eyes. J. Opt. Soc. Am. 33:879-886, 1954. 
17. Palmer DA. Necrology. Brian Hewson Crawford. Color Research and 

Applications. Feb 1992; 17:3. 
18. Stiles WS. Luminous efficiency of monochromatic rays entering the eye pupil 

at different points and a new color effect. Proc Roy Soc Lond B 1937;123:90-118. 
19. Crawford BH. The luminous efficiency of light entering the eye pupil at 

different points and its relationship to brightness threshold measurements. Roy Soc 
Lond B 1937;124:81-96. 

20. Stiles WS. The directional sensitivity of the retina and the spectral 
sensitivities of the rods and cones. Proc Roy Soc Lond B 1939;127:64 -105. 

21. Hanson G. Zur Kenntnis des physiolischen apertur Farbeffekts (Stiles­
Crawford Effect II Art). Die Naturwiss 1943;35/36:416-417. 

22. Rynders M, Grosvenor T, Enoch JM. Stability of the Stiles-Crawford function 
in an unilateral amblyopic subject over a thirty-eight year period: A case study. Optom 
Vis Sci 1995;72:177-185. 

23. Enoch JM, Werner JS, Haegerstrom-Portnoy G, Lakshminarayanan V, 
Rynders M. Forever young: Visual functions not affected or minimally affected by aging. 
(Invited) Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences 1999;55A:B336-B351. 

24. Blank K, Enoch JM. Monocular spatial distortions induced by marked 
accommodation. Science 1973; 182:393-395. 

25. Enoch JM. Effect of substantial accommodation on total retinal area. J Opt 
Soc Am 1973;63: 899. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 22 



26. Blank K, Provine RR, Enoch JM. Shift in the peak of the photopic Stiles­
Crawford effect with marked accommodation. Vision Res 1973;15:499-507. 

27. Enoch JM. Marked accommodation, retinal stretch, monocular space 
perception, and retinal receptor orientation. Am J Optom Arch Am Acad Optom 
1975;52:375-392, 435. 

28. Campos EC, Bedell HE, Enoch JM, Fitzgerald CR. Retinal receptive-field like 
properties and Stiles-Crawford effect in a patient with a traumatic choroidal rupture. Doc 
Ophthalmol1978;45: 381-395. 

29. Fitzgerald CR, Birch DG, Enoch JM. Functional analysis of vision in patients 
following retinal detachment repair. Arch Ophthalmol 1980;98: 1237-1244. 

30. Enoch JM, Choi S, Kono M, Lakshminarayanan V, Calvo ML. Receptor 
alignments and visual fields in high and low myopia. In: Walls H, Mills RP, eds. 
Perimetry Update 2000-2001, Proc. International Perimetric Society, Sept 6-9, 2000, 
Halifax, Nova Scotia, The Hague, the Netherlands; Kugler publications, 2001:373-387. 
(This is just one of a number of related papers) 

31. Bedell HE, Enoch JM. An apparent failure of the photoreceptor alignment 
system in a human observer. Arch Ophthalmol 1980;98:2023-2026. (This paper reports 
one of two such eyes found in this laboratory with this very interesting anomaly. In this 
observer, the photoreceptor alignments were directed approx. at the center of the retinal 
sphere rather than towards the center of exit pupil of the patient's eye.) 

32. Enoch JM, Birch DG. Evidence for alteration in photoreceptor orientation. 
Ophthalmol1980;87-821-833. 

33. Enoch JM, Birch DG. Inferred positive phototropic activity in human 
photoreceptors. Phil Trans Royal Soc London B 1981 ;291: 323-351, 1981. (Please refer 
to the second part of this paper) 

34. Enoch JM, Tobey FL, Jr., eds. Vertebrate Photoreceptor Optics. Springer 
Series in Optical Sciences, Vol. 23, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, 1981. ISBN 3-
540-10515-8; ISBN 0-387-10515-8. 

35. Enoch JM, Fitzgerald CR, Campos EC. Quantitative Layer-by-Layer 
Perimetry, An Extended Analysis. New York, London: Grune & Stratton, Inc. 1981. 
ISBN 8089-1282-8. 

36. He JC, Marcos S, Burns SA. Comparison of cone directionality determined by 
psychophysical and reflectometric techniques. J Opt Soc Am A 1999; 16:2363-2369. 

37. J. Kanis MJ. Foveal reflection analysis in a clinical setting. Dissertation, 
Utrecht University, Faculty of Medicine, the Netherlands. 2008:pp. 155. IBSN: 978-90-
39348536. 

38. Gao W, Cense B, Zhang Y, Jonnal RS, Miller DT. Measuring retinal 
contributions to the optical Stiles-Crawford effect with optical coherence tomography. 
Opt Express 2008;16, 6486-6501. 

Some other useful references 
1. Enoch JM. The Stiles-Crawford Effects, also known as the directional 

sensitivity of the retina (A review). Very Oir (Vision and Hearing), Oct 2002;9(#169, a 
special edition):651-662. 

2. Enoch JM. The two-color threshold technique of Stiles and derived component 
color mechanisms. Chap. 21 In: Jameson D, Hurvich LM, eds. (this volume) Handbook 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 23 



of Sensory Physiology Vol. Vll/4, Visual Psychophysics. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1972: 
537-567. 

3. Wyszecki G, Stiles WS. Color Science. New York: J. Wiley and Sons, 1967. 
4. Enoch JM. Studies on Colorimetry, the Stiles-Crawford Effects I & II, and Fiber 

Optics Properties in the Laboratory of W.S. Stiles at the National Physical Laboratory, 
Teddington. In: Proceedings of the ISCC/CIE Expert Symposium "75 Years of the CIE 
Standard Colorimetric Observer", 16-17 May 2006, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, National 
Research Council of Canada. Published (1) in a CO-ROM # CIE x030:2006; and (2) in 
print format: CIE x030:2006. ISBN 3 901 906 51 7, (Enoch paper) pp. 37-43, 2006. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 24 



Johannes Amos Comenius (1592-1670) and his 
Depiction of Lenses and Spectacles in the First 
Children's Picture Book 

David A. Goss, O.D., Ph.D. 
School of Optometry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, dgoss@indiana.edu 

Abstract 
Johannes Amos Comenius (1592-1670) was a Moravian clergyman, teacher, and 
author. He is recognized as introducing several concepts of modern education. He 
advanced the views that education should be appropriate to age and development 
levels and that teaching should make use of everyday sensory experience. One of his 
many books, Orbis Pictus, followed those concepts. Orbis Pictus, first published in 
1657, is hailed as the first children's picture book. Among the many commonplace 
objects he included in the book were a mirror, spectacles, a telescope, a magnifying 
lens, and a burning glass. 

Key words: children's books, lenses, history of spectacles. 

Johannes Amos Comenius (or Jan Amos Komensky) was born on March 28, 
1592, in Moravia. Comenius was a clergyman in the Unity of Brethren church, a 
teacher, and an author. Some have called him "the Father of Modern Education".1 

Comenius's parents died when he was a child, and he was raised in the care of 
relatives.2 After university studies in Herborn and Heidelberg, in Germany, Comenius 
became a clergyman and teacher in Moravia. 

Comenius's first wife and their two children died of the plague in 1622. The 
following year, in the turmoil during the Thirty Years' War in Europe (1618-1648), 
Comenius's home and books were burned. Comenius escaped, eventually settling in 
1628 in Poland, where remained until1641. While in Poland, Comenius became a 
bishop in the Unity of Brethren church and he became noted for his many writings. 
After a year in England, Comenius was invited to Sweden, where he worked on the 
reformation of their school system.3 Leaving Sweden at the end of the Thirty Years' 
War in 1648, Comenius lived in Poland and Hungary until 1656, when war broke out 
again in Poland. Comenius lived his last years in Amsterdam until his death on 
November 15, 1670. Throughout his many moves, Comenius continued to write 
textbooks and books on educational theory. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 25 



Comenius's Works and Educational Philosophy 
Among his books are Janua Linguarum, a Latin textbook; Didactica Magna (The 

Great Didactic), a famous book on educational theory; Via Lucis, on the reform of 
society through education; Orbis Pictus, the first children's picture book; and Universal 
Consultation on the Reform of Human Affairs, a comprehensive treatment of his 
philosophy for the betterment of human conditions through educational, religious, and 
social reform. 2•3 Comenius believed that educational reform was essential to the 
improvement of human society, and he thought that education should be available to all, 
regardless of social status or gender.3.4 Comenius suggested that education be tailored 
to age levels, with learning beginning in early childhood, and with the timing of teaching 
based on readiness to understand the various concepts. 

Striving to make education less oppressive and abstract, Comenius stressed 
learning through sensory experience. 1•4 So, for example, in Orbis Pictus, Comenius 
used pictures of many familiar everyday objects to try to stimulate children's desire to 
learn and to improve their cognitive and language skills.3 Orbis Pictus was originally 
intended for children up to six years of age before attending school, but it became very 
popular for all ages. 

Orbis Pictus 
The full title of the book that is generally known as Orbis Pictus is Orbis 

Sensualium Pictus: Hoc est Omnium principalium in Mundo Rerum, & in Vita Actionum, 
Pictura & Nomenclatura. One English translation of the short title is World Illustrated, 
and an English translation of the full title is Visible World: or, a Nomenclature and 
Pictures of all the Chief Things that are in the World, and of Men's Employment therein. 

Orb is Pictus was first published in Latin in 1657, and was subsequently 
translated into many languages. An English translation by Charles Hoole was published 
in 1658. The copy I examined was a 1968 reissue of an 1887 publication of the 1727 
English edition, which was based on Hoole's translation. In the 1727 edition, English 
words were in the left hand column opposite the corresponding original Latin in the right 
hand column. The book contains 151 figures and accompanying text. 

The book starts with the exhortation "Come, Boy, learn to be wise." (page 1) 
After an exchange between the teacher and the boy, and an introduction to the 
alphabet, various ideas and commonplace objects are pictured and discussed. Various 
elements within the drawings are numbered and the numbers are referred to in the 
corresponding discussion. Among the first items to be featured are air, water, clouds, 
metals, stones, trees, and flowers. Animals are discussed, and then the human body. 
In the latter series, the eye is mentioned as one of the "five outward senses." On pages 
52-53, one finds drawings of the sense organs (Figure 1) and the following text: 

"There are five outward Senses; The Eye, 1. seeth Colours, what is white or 
black, green or blew, red or yellow. The Ear, 2. heareth Sounds, both natural, Voices 
and Words; and artificial, Musical Tunes. The Nose, 3. scenteth smells and stinks. The 
Tongue, 4. with the roof of the Mouth tastes Savours, what is sweet or bitter, keen or 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 26 



biting, sower or harsh. The Hand, 5. by touching discerneth the quantity and quality of 
things; the hot and cold, the moist and dry, the hard and soft, the smooth and rough, the 
heavy and light. 

"The inward Senses are three. The Common Sense, 7. under the forepart of the 
head, apprehendeth things taken from the outward Senses. The Phantasie, 6. under 
the crown of the head judgeth of those things, thinketh and dreameth, The Memory, 8. 
under the hinder part of the head, layeth up every thing and fetcheth them out: it loseth 
some, and this is forgetfulness. Sleep, is the rest of the Senses." 

XLII. 

Sensus externi & interni. 

Figure 1. Drawing ofthe senses from Orbis Pictus, page 52. 

On pages 56 to 194 (there is a six page index after page 194), there are 
drawings and descriptions of various occupations, manmade objects, concepts, and 
activities. Some examples are bread-baking, weaving, the shoemaker, the mason, a 
house, the blacksmith, wells, the cooper, paper, printing, musical instruments, 
philosophy, geometry, eclipses, justice, a city, measures and weights, physick 
(physicianry), tennis-play, the soldier, religion, Judaism, Christianity, etc. A drawing 
headed "Looking-glasses" can be found on page 97 of the book (Figure 2). The text, 
continuing onto page 98, describing that drawing is as follows: 

"Looking-glasses, 1. are provided that Men may see themselves. Spectacles, 2. 
that he may see better, who hath a weak sight. Things afar off are seen in a 
Perspective Glass, 3. as things near at hand. A Flea appeareth in a multiplying-glass, 
4. like a little hog. The Rays of the Sun, burn wood through a Burning-glass, 5." 

Comenius included commonplace items in his mid seventeenth century book. 
This makes it particularly interesting that he would include a mirror, spectacles, a 
telescope, a magnifying lens, and a burning lens in the book. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 27 



Looking·,t;lasses, 1. I Spccu!aria, I. 
I 

Figure 2. The drawing including spectacles and lenses from page 97 of Orb is Pictus. 

References 
1. Armstrong C. Elementary school: medieval to modern. Christian History and 

Biography 2005;86:13. 
2. Greengrass M. Johannes Amos Comenius. Oxford Dictionary of National 

Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/articles/67/67104-article.html?back=. Accessed 
December 3, 2008. 

3. Gundem BB. "Vivat Comenius": A commemorative essay on Johann Amos 
Comenius, 1592-1670. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision 1992;8:43-55. 

4. Peltzman BR. Pioneers of Early Childhood Education: A Bio-bibliographical 
Guide. Westport, CT: Westport Press, 1998:xiii, 1. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... Januruy, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 28 



Origin of Optometry at Cardiff University 

Michel Millodot, Ph.D. 
Honorary Professor, School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, 
Cardiff CF10 3AT, United Kingdom, millodot@btinternet.com 

Editor's Note: Michel Mil/odot was asked by the archivist of Cardiff University to write 
this article about the history of the optometry program at Cardiff. Dr. Millodot has 
graciously granted permission to have the article published in Hindsight. 

"at every crossing in the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed 
by a thousand men appointed to guard the pasf' 
Unknown source 

Introduction 
The change of the name of the 'Department of Ophthalmic Optics' to 'Department 

of Optometry' in 1975 at the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, 
represents the first official use of the term optometry in the United Kingdom. Until then 
Universities only used the name ophthalmic optics and trained ophthalmic opticians who 
were usually referred to as opticians. The main professional bodies were the British 
Optical Association (founded 1895), the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers 
(founded 1629), the Association of Optical Practitioners and the Scottish Association of 
Opticians. 

The adoption of the word optometry by the University of Wales constituted a 
revolution in the British terminology of the profession as the old terminology was deeply 
entrenched in the psyche of the practitioners and the public, and remained so for many 
more years. The happening at Cardiff became a milestone, which had an extraordinary 
impact on the discipline and the profession. 

Brief history 
Since the 1 ih century individuals involved in optical instruments, spectacles, 

lenses, optical science have been known as opticians. In the early part of the 20th 
century opticians in the UK who performed sight-testing and dispensing to correct errors 
of refraction became known as ophthalmic opticians. Courses of training for ophthalmic 
opticians were devised firstly by the associations and soon afterwards by training 
institutions. The first such course appears to be at Northampton Institute (now City 
University) in 1908. It was followed by Manchester College of Technology (now 
Manchester University) in 1920, then Bradford (1920), Herriot-Watt College, Edinburgh 
(1924), Birmingham Technical School (now Aston University) in (1926) and at Cardiff 
Technical College (now Cardiff University) in 1935. In all instances the course was 
provided within the Department of Physics as was suggested by the word optics in its 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 29 



title, except at Northampton where it was taught in a separate Department of Applied 
Optics. 

UWIST 1974 
The ophthalmic optics course at Cardiff Technical College and later UWIST was 

taught as an ancillary subject within the Department of Applied Physics. In the 1970-71 
academic year it became a separate Department of Ophthalmic Optics with a senior 
Lecturer Mr T.S.P. Tuck in charge. In 1974 a Professor and Head of Department was 
appointed. The first incumbent of the Chair was Professor Michel Millodot who had 
been a Senior Lecturer in Optometry at the French-speaking University of Montreal. He 
began his function in September 1974. The Department had five full-time academic 
staff and 85 full-time students, all undergraduates. 

UWIST 1975 
Professor Millodot soon realized that although the profession used the term 

ophthalmic optics and ophthalmic opticians, very few people understood what it meant. 
There was confusion among the public as well as university colleagues in other 
disciplines. They did not know whether it was a branch of physics or medicine. They 
confused ophthalmic opticians with dispensing opticians, manufacturing opticians, 
technical opticians, or even oculist and ophthalmologists. 

Before Professor Millodot decided to change the name of the Department he 
sought the advice of the professional bodies and colleagues. The response was almost 
entirely negative. Nevertheless he persisted in the genuine belief that a single term like 
optometry described the discipline more concisely and more clearly than a compound 
term and that some international standardization of terminology for the same profession 
would be beneficial. Thus on Wednesday 19th February 1975 Professor Millodot 
presented a request to the Senate of UWIST. The motion was passed without any 
difficulty whatsoever (the professor of physics remarked that the new term was much 
easier to spell!) and the minutes read: 

"Resolved that it be recommended to the Academic Board that the title of the 
Department of Ophthalmic Optics be changed to the Department of Optometry that, if 
this change was approved, the new name come into use from 01/08/75 with any 
anticipatory action being taken when appropriate". 

Subsequently the Academic Board met on the 6th of March 1975 and the minutes 
note: "The recommendation that the title of the Department of Ophthalmic Optics at 
UWIST be changed to Department of Optometry was approved". 

Reactions 
The change of the name ophthalmic optics for optometry at Cardiff had an 

extraordinary impact on the profession throughout the UK. Soon after this momentous 
decision I informed various people and journal editors and I received two congratulatory 
notes, one from Professor R.J. Fletcher of the City University and the other from the 
Editor of The Optician. Interestingly the latter journal then dedicated an editorial to the 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 30 



subject in the issue of April 18, 1975 (Vol. 169; 4378) and pointed out that, 
coincidentally, they had adopted the word by renaming the journal, beginning with this 
issue, The Optician, the weekly journal for optometrists and dispensers. The editor 
Philip Mullins, a New-Zealander, just could not have expected the explosive reaction to 
the "offending" word. It is unlikely that it was the letters to editors which had the most 
impact but I understood that it was most likely the pressure from the professional 
associations and most importantly that of the optical companies that advertise in the 
journal, which compelled it to remove the word in the title and to resume using its name 
The Optician within just over one year! 

Indeed the term optometry was strongly opposed by most members of the 
profession and by professional associations and Letters to the Editor of the journals, 
The Optician and the Ophthalmic Optician echoed the arguments for and against, which 
appeared in most issues from 1975 to about 1978 when the City University renamed its 
Department of Ophthalmic Optics to Department of Optometry. 

The main reasons for objecting to the word optometry included the fact that the 
term 'ophthalmic opticians' is the term used in the Opticians Act 1958, the belief that 
ophthalmic opticians in this country can do more than optometrists in other countries, 
and possibly the fact that it was an imported word (viewed as Americanism) and not 
British. Some arguments for its adoption included the fact that a single term is more 
comprehensible than a compound term, that its ending in 'ist' conformed better with 
physiologist, physicist, psychologist, ophthalmologist, etc., and that international 
understanding would be facilitated by the standardization of terms. 

Repercussions 
Following the decision of the City University in London, the matter was taken 

more seriously in the rest of the country. The antagonistic dust settled to some extent, it 
was replaced by some years of acquiescence and was eventually followed by full 
acceptance of the word optometry. All Departments of Ophthalmic Optics in the country 
eventually changed their name in the next 15 years and/or taught optometry. In 1980, 
the British Optical Association, the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers and the 
Scottish Association of Opticians amalgamated to form the 'College of Ophthalmic 
Opticians (Optometrists)'. It was renamed in 1996 to 'College of Optometrists' and it is 
now the sole professional, scientific and examining body for optometry in the UK 
working for the public benefit. The Association of Optical Practitioners changed its 
name to 'Association of Optometrists' in 1987, it is concerned with the welfare of the 
practitioners. 

Conclusion 
It is actually ironic that the word optometry aroused so much opposition in the UK 

since the word first appeared in 1759 in a book entitled 'Treatise on the eye" by W. 
Porterfield, a Scottish physician who devised the first optometer to examine 
accommodation. In the first decades of the 20th century the professional associations of 
Australia and the USA became known as optometric associations and learned journals 
of optometry were begun (e.g., American Journal of Optometry in 1923, now known as 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 31 



Optometry and Vision Science; Australian Journal of Optometry in 1918, now known as 
Clinical and Experimental Optometry). In the UK, the Ophthalmic Optician ceased to 
exist in 1984 and was replaced by Optometry Today in 1985, and nowadays the term 
ophthalmic optician has been almost completely buried. Thus it fair to say that this 
change of name represented a revolution in terminology in the UK, which was triggered 
by the momentous decision taken in Cardiff in 1975 and which reverberated throughout 
the profession for a period of about 15 years, until 1990 when all the university 
department and professional bodies, if not the public and some practitioners, adopted 
the word optometry. 

References 
Mitchell M. History of the British Optical Association 1895-1978. The British 

Optical Association, 1982. 
Wade NJ, FingerS. William Porterfield (ca 1696-1771) and his phantom limb; an 

overlooked first self-report by a man of medicine. Neurosurgery 2003;52: 1196-1199. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 32 



Optometry Field Magazine, An Early Twentieth 
Century Periodical 

David A. Goss, 0.0., Ph.D. 
School of Optometry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, dgoss@indiana.edu 

Through an inquiry from OHS member Irving Bennett, I recently learned of the 
existence of a periodical titled Optometry Field Magazine. Through some online 
searching and the examination of one volume of this publication, I have been able to 
find out a little about it. 

The online catalog, WorldCat, indicated that three libraries have holdings of 
Optometry Field Magazine: University of California Berkeley (UCB), Indiana University 
(IU), and Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO). The online catalog for the 
UCB libraries said that their holdings began with volume 1 and continued to volume 2, 
number 2. It further noted that the publication began in June, 1915, and that volume 2, 
number 2 was published in 1917. The periodical was published monthly in the United 
States and was 18 em high. 

The SCCO online library catalog listed their holdings as volumes 3, 4, and 5. 
The catalog stated that those volumes were published in 1924, 1925, and 1926, and 
that the name of the publisher was not given. Linda Draper of the International Library, 
Archives, and Museum of Optometry (ILAMO), in an email to Irving Bennett noted that 
ILAMO held volumes 1, 3, 4, and 5. She stated that volume 1 was thought to be 
published in 1916, but the dates were uncertain. Volume 1 was bound with the cover 
referring to it as a yearbook. She said that volumes 3, 4, and 5 were bound with the 
covers of the individual issues removed and the dates were unknown. 

Indiana University holds volume 2, and I checked it out to examine it. There are 
12 issues in volume 2, and they are bound in a hard cover which carries the title 
Optometry Field Magazine Year Book 1917. The publication is 18 em high by 13 em, 
and each issue in volume 2 contains 16 pages. The individual issues do not have dates 
on them, only the numerical designations for volume and issue number. Neither are 
editor, authors, publisher, or place of publication identified anywhere in the publication. 
On the back cover of volume 2, issue 8, the following is printed: W.H. Replogle, 
Optometrist and Optician, 619 Sheridan Ave., Shenandoah, Iowa. Perhaps Replogle 
was the editor and/or publisher of Optometry Field Magazine. There is no listing of a 
Replogle in any of the Hindsight indexes. Nor does the name Replogle appear in the 
name indexes of James Gregg's histories of the American Optometric Association and 
the American Academy of Optometry. 

Issue numbers 1 through 5 have the title Optometry on the cover followed by 
"Published in the Interests of Optometry and its Legitimate Adjuncts- A Monthly 
Epitome of Optometric Science, Art, Literature and News." Issue numbers 6 through 12 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 33 



have Optometry Field Magazine on the cover. It appears that it was published to 
promote optometry and vision care, based on the preponderance of articles explaining 
what optometry is, the importance of vision care and of eyeglasses, etc. Some excerpts 
will illustrate this point. 

In the first issue of volume 2, in the midst of a long essay on various aspects of 
the eye and vision, the importance of vision, and visual efficiency, there are balded 
definitions of optometry, optometrist, optics, optician, ophthalmology, ophthalmologist, 
and oculist. The definition given for optometrist is "one who practices the profession of 
optometry. One familiar with the science and art of adjusting lenses to the human eye 
for the relief of eyestrain and the betterment of vision. An optometrist is not an 
ophthalmologist either by education or legal requirements." An ophthalmologist was 
defined as "A medical practitioner who confines his practice to diseases and surgical 
operations on eyes. An ophthalmologist is not an optometrist either by education or 
legal requirements." And the definition of oculist is "A medical practitioner who treats 
diseases of the eye with drugs, and practices surgery. Most so-called oculists, outside 
the larger cities, also treat the ear, nose and throat. An oculist is not an optometrist 
either by education or legal requirements." 

The cover of the second issue of volume 2 proclaims that it is a "Child's Welfare 
Issue." The cover contains photographs of five children with esotropia and the 
statement "Look on the back cover and see what optometry did for these five little cross­
eyed kiddies." The back cover shows the five children in spectacles with straight eyes 
and the notation that "The eyes of these children were straightened, as shown, by 
properly adjusted lenses and exercises." 

In the fourth issue of volume 2, there is an editorial that mentions that "most 
advanced optometrists" use dynamic skiametry. It states that, in contrast, oculists rarely 
use that procedure. The editorial notes that optometrists have qualified themselves in 
the prescribing and fitting of glasses, but there is "no assurance" that the oculist has. 
Later in that issue on page 61 below a list of the states that have optometry licensing 
laws, there is a definition of optometry that states that "Optometry is the scientific and 
drug less method of examining the powers and visual conditions of the eyes, together 
with the strength and poise of their related muscles and giving the proper assistance -
exercise or lenses- to overcome their defects." 

On the cover of the volume 2, number 6, the word OP-TOM-E-TRY appears, 
presumably to indicate the proper pronunciation, followed by the words "Eye Sight 
Conservation." An editorial in this issue quotes Thorington, Herman Snellen, Francis 
Volk, Edward Jackson, and other ophthalmological authorities on the disadvantages of 
refracting using drops. Elsewhere in the issue the point is made that there is a 
significant economic cost of eyestrain. 

Inside the back cover of the seventh issue of volume 2, one finds the following 
three paragraphs: "To qualify for the examination in optometry in states having 
optometry laws, now thirty-eight, the applicant must be at least twenty-one years of age, 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 34 



in addition to having a preliminary training of at least two years in an accredited high 
school, or must give evidence of having studied optometry, preferably by presenting a 
certificate of graduation from a registered school of optometry. 

"These courses include such subjects as mathematics, physics, theoretical 
optics, general anatomy and physiology, theoretical optometry, practical optometry, 
physiological optics and pathological conditions of the eye. 

"Standard schools of optometry are located at Boston, New York (Columbia 
University), Philadelphia, Rochester, Columbus (Ohio State University), Chicago, St. 
Paul, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Spokane. In 
addition, several state universities are giving lectures - notably the California State 
University at Berkeley." 

The editorial in the eighth issue is headed "Reading Causes Indigestion Through 
Eyestrain." The issue carries "The Story of Jim and Joe," a story in verse about two 
boys on pages 131-138. On the top of page 132, we find that: 

Now Jim liked the school 
And was willing to go; 

But a laggard in study 
And learning was Joe. 

The next few pages elaborate on that theme, and a perceptive teacher recognizes that 
Joe has a vision problem. Then on page 136: 

The next day Joe went 
To an optical place, 

Where a "Licensed Optometrist" 
Took care of his case. 

He went in a dullard, 
A crabbed kill-joy; 

He came out with specs 
But a real living boy. 

Joe then had as much success in school as Jim. Jim became a lawyer and Joe a 
"doctor". The last stanza of the story says that Joe appreciated his optometrist: 

And among his best friends, 
Whatever their classes, 

Is the optical man 
Who supplied his first glasses. 

The editorial in volume 2, issue number 10 is titled: "Beauty in and Behind 
Glasses." It emphasized that properly fitted glasses are comfortable and individualized 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 35 



to the appearance of the patient. The primary topic of the twelfth and last issue in 
volume 2 was headaches. The editorial claimed that most headaches are eyestrain 
headaches. That editorial concluded by saying that: "With proper ventilation, meaning 
by that all the fresh air you can get, sleeping with all the windows open, regularity of the 
bowels, exercise outdoors and nourishing food and correction of your eye defects, you 
have the best preventives of headache." 

Several questions remain concerning Optometry Field Magazine. How well was 
it accepted by the profession and the public? Was it successful in its promotional 
message? Was Replogle the editor and/or publisher? Was it discontinued after volume 
5? Are 1924 to 1926 the correct dates for volumes 3 to 5? And, if so, why was there a 
seven year gap between volumes 2 and 3? 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 36 



Optometry's "Leading Society" Celebrates its 1 ooth 
Year: Notes on the Western Pennsylvania Optometric 
Society 

Irving Bennett, O.D. 

1520 Pelican Point Drive, BA252, Sarasota, FL 34231, irvbennett@juno.com 

Editor's Note: Many state and local optometric associations and societies were 
founded in the early years of the twentieth century in efforts for the passage of licensure 
Jaws and/or for the promotion of professional practice. As a result, many are celebrating 
their 1 ooth anniversaries. The Western Pennsylvania Optometric Society recently 
obseNed its centennial anniversary. Here INing Bennett highlights some of the 
remarkable individuals populating the society and some of its important contributions to 
optometry. 

During the decade or two following the end of World War II, the Pittsburgh 
Optometric Society enjoyed the distinction and reputation as being the most influential 
local optometric society in the entire American Optometric Association (AOA). And 
there were very good reasons for this. 

But before that, we need to set matters straight. The records are a bit fuzzy. 
Pittsburgh's organization of optometrists came into being in 1906 and, from 1919 on, it 
was called the Pittsburgh Association of Optometrists. In 1940 the name was changed 
to the Pittsburgh Optometric Society. With the area of membership extending far 
beyond Pittsburgh's city limits, the Society changed its name to the Western 
Pennsylvania Optometric Society (WPOS) in October 1957. 

In the style of David Letterman, here are ten reasons, not in any order of 
importance or chronology, why ours has been the most outstanding local society for so 
long: 

1) In the mid-1940s, the AOA Public Information Bureau (the public relations arm of 
national optometry) was headquartered in the Jenkins Arcade in downtown 
Pittsburgh. First Ward Ewalt and then Elmer Soles were chairs of this important 
AOA department. (Later, when the Bureau was moved to St. Louis, Bob Phillips 
became its Director). All were our Society members. 

2) Three AOA Presidents came from the Pittsburgh Society- William T. McConnell 
in 1917, Thomas Martin in 1923, and H. Ward Ewalt, Jr. in 1962. The National 
Parliamentarian was William J. Van Essen for a decade in the 1940s. One 
remarkable lady, Mrs. Mary Schempp, the wife of Dr. Ed Schempp, then State 
Board Secretary, became the President of the Woman's Auxiliary of the 
American Optometric Association, the national organization, in 1946. That was 
the only year that the AOA Congress was ever held in Pittsburgh. The national 
annual meeting was held at the William Penn Hotel and the Pittsburgh Society 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 37 



was its host. Currently, the president of the (national) American Academy of 
Optometry is Mark Eger. This is an honor that parallels being AOA president. 

3) Three of the nine Editors of the Journal of the American Optometric Association 
came from the Society (Irving Bennett 1957-1964; Milton Eger 1965-1985; and 
the current editor Paul Freeman who began his stint in 1990). The Journal is now 
called "Optometry." Two of the editors, Eger and Bennett, combined their talents 
in the mid-1960s and started the statewide think-tank conference called 
Allenberry. It was held at the Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs, PA in October. 
Well over 50 ODs from all over the state convened for a shirt-sleeves no-holds­
barred meeting on the pressing problems facing optometry in the state and in the 
nation. 

4) The rivalry between the Pittsburgh Society (led by William J. Van Essen) and the 
Philadelphia Society (led by Albert Fitch) during the middle 1930s is legend. It 
led to the strengthening of the Optometric Act in many ways and the landmark 
court case (Neill vs. Gimbel) declaring optometry as a separate independent 
profession, not subservient to medicine. In 1937, legislation that would have 
granted optometrists TPA and surgical privileges failed passage by one single 
vote in the Pennsylvania Assembly! 

5) A statewide public relations campaign -that had national overtones- featured 
Pittsburgh TV artist ("The Musical Sketchpad") Marty Wolfson and his KDKA TV 
program, comic books ("Dewey C. Well") and others public relations items. The 
ambitious program began in Pittsburgh in the early 1950s and led to the 
formation of the Vision Conservation Institute (VCI), which remains today as a 
public relations arm of the Pennsylvania Optometric Association (POA). 

6) At least 16 optometrists who were WPOS or Pittsburgh Society members ended 
up as President of the Pennsylvania Optometric Association, including the 
current POA President Bob Bittel, Jr. One member of the Society received AOA 
recognition by being granted a prestigious Apollo Award (Ewalt) and two 
members were honored with AOA's highest award -the Distinguished Service 
Award (Eger and Bennett). Three members of the WPOS (Ewalt, Eger and 
Bennett) were among the 49 optometrists who have thus far been inducted in the 
National Optometric Hall of Fame. 

7) The Pittsburgh Society was so big in the late 1950s that, under Bob Phillips' 
direction, it was split into five "Forums" so the members could meet more often 
as smaller study groups. The only Forum remaining is the one in Beaver Valley. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 38 



It still meets infrequently. A standout O.D. who was a female from Pittsburgh 
was Anna Miller; she was the first chair of the POA's Assistance to Graduates 
and Undergraduates Committee. And it was Dr. Miller who was the force behind 
the beginning of a viable para-optometric organization in this state. It became a 
model for other states to emulate. She was a lady "before her time." 

8) Third party vision programming actually started in Pittsburgh when the Teamsters 
asked AOA for a contract so its members could get eye exams and eyeglasses 
as a worker benefit. This led to the formation of the national Vision Institute of 
America (VIA) which changed later into Vision Service Plan (VSP). A member of 
the WPOS (Bennett) was on the first national VIA Board of Trustees. 

9) The society can boast that it had the first "Co-ordinated Classroom" school 
building as per the direction of the famous architect Darryl Harmon and the OEP. 
It was located in Beaver Falls, the city that also passed a city ordinance in the 
1950s that made it illegal to price advertise eye exams or eye glasses. 

10)The Society was not purely all business- it held annual North Park picnics 
(featuring Dr. Van Essen's famous hot German potato salad) and other social 
gatherings. Most of the members during the formative years were male and it 
was common to bring their wives for meetings with their own "Auxiliary." 

And so it goes. The Western Pennsylvania Optometric Society- the 
society that helped make history. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 39 



The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, 
Religious and Institutional Context, from Prehistory to 
A.D. 1450 

The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in 
Philosophical, Religious and Institutional Context, from Prehistory to A.D. 1450, 
Second Edition. David Lindberg. Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2007 
(the first edition appeared in 1992). xvi + 488 pages, 116 figures, and 6 maps. 
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-48205-7. ISBN-10: 0-226-48205-7. Paperback, $25.00. 

Jay M. Enoch, O.D., Ph.D. 
Professor of the Graduate School, Dean Emeritus, School of Optometry, University of 
California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-2020, USA, jmenoch@berkeley.edu 

An updated book by David Lindberg (a second edition) has appeared, in which 
there is much material on vision science, but, in addition, it covers science as a whole. 
This volume provides added coverage relative to the first edition. Western traditions are 
well represented. He also addresses Mediterranean and Near Eastern Arabic 
contributions to research. Optics, vision, and development of medicine are well treated. 

Prof. David Lindberg, the author, is located at the University of Chicago, and 
quite a number of years ago, he wrote authoritatively on development of visual science 
from antiquity to Kepler (and a bit beyond), in his Ph.D. dissertation. This book brings 
together a rather complete treatment of science covering the early developmental years 
through medieval times. The writer's paperback copy was obtained on sale from the U. 
of Chicago Press. Lindberg is a fine writer and scholar and he holds the interest of the 
reader well. This volume largely covers Medieval History of Western Science. It is well 
illustrated, and he explains contributions made by the Greeks and Romans as well as 
the Arab scientists who contributed not only to vision and other science, but who 
perpetuated ancient knowledge, per se, during the European Dark Age. They also 
contributed to re-introduction of that science to the European continent through the 
Iberian peninsula. The associated bibliography is well ordered and voluminous. 
Illustrations and maps are pertinent and ample. The book is recommended to those 
interested in the early history of optics and vision. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... Januruy, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 40 



Book Review: Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von 
Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics 

Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics. 
Myles W. Jackson. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2000. x + 284 pages. ISBN 0-
262-10084-3. Hardcover, $40. 

David A. Goss, O.D., Ph.D. 
School of Optometry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, dgoss@indiana.edu 

This book uses the working life of Joseph von Fraunhofer and surrounding 
events to illustrate the economic importance of glassmaking, relationships of science 
and society, and the relationships of skilled craftsmen and scientists in the early 
nineteenth century. The author emphasizes that the book is not a biography of 
Fraunhofer, but he notes that Fraunhofer's life story is an interesting one, "a rags-to­
riches story worthy of a Hollywood production." (page 5) 

Joseph von Fraunhofer was born in 1787 into a family of generations of German 
glassmakers. His mother died in 1797 and his father in 1798. Fraunhofer was sent to 
apprentice and live with mirror maker and glass cutter Philipp Anton Weichselberger in 
Munich. It was not an entirely happy association as, for example, Weichselberger tried 
to keep Fraunhofer from using a lamp to read about optical theory at night. 

In 1806, King Maximilian's privy councilor Joseph von Utzschneider, who had 
watched over Fraunhofer since 1801, when Weichselberger's house collapsed, 
arranged for Fraunhofer to work at his Optical Institute at Benediktbeurn in Bavaria. 
Fraunhofer went to work making achromatic lenses for refracting telescopes and 
surveying instruments. The author states that "Within 15 years, the orphaned lad from 
the most humble of origins produced the finest achromatic lenses and prisms the optical 
community had ever seen." (page 5) 

Fraunhofer's laboratory was housed in an old Benedictine monastery purchased 
by Utzschneider for the purpose of making lenses. The monks who worked there 
provided an environment in which manufacturing methods could be kept secret, and the 
surrounding forest contained plenty of wood to heat the furnaces for making glass. 
Fraunhofer perfected the glass recipes, the stirring procedures, and the heating 
methods that made excellent homogeneous achromatic lenses free of bubbles and 
distortions. The book emphasizes the importance of lenses for economic, military, and 
scientific purposes and for national pride. 

The author discusses attempts by the English to duplicate Fraunhofer's lenses. 
For example, Michael Faraday analyzed the chemical composition of Fraunhofer's 
lenses and tried making lenses using the same ingredients. However, perhaps in part 
because glassmaking was Fraunhofer's life work and it was a minor sideline to Faraday, 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 41 



the lenses made by Faraday were never of the same quality as Fraunhofer's. John 
Herschel, expecting Fraunhofer to adhere to the philosophy of open communication 
among scientists, visited Fraunhofer to learn the manufacturing methods. However, 
Fraunhofer kept the philosophy of artisans that the secrets of manufacturing processes 
should be carefully guarded. In fact, after Fraunhofer's death, "even the apprentices 
who had worked most closely with him, in the same glass hut and with the same 
equipment, achieved only limited success in the manufacture of optical glass." (pages 8-
9) 

Fraunhofer also undertook various optical investigations. In 1807, he wrote his 
first scholarly work, which dealt with catoptrics. His most famous work was the 
discovery of the "Fraunhofer lines." The author notes that this work "was not the 
culmination of any concern on his part with the nature of light. Nor did he use those 
lines to analyze substances. Rather, his work was a product of artisanal training with a 
view to perfect the construction of achromatic lenses for astronomical 
instruments ... and ... surveying instruments." (page 45) 

In 1817, Fraunhofer became a corresponding member of the Royal Bavarian 
Academy of Sciences. Because he was an artisan and did no have a university 
education, he did not achieve acceptance among all members of the scientific 
community. In 1822, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Erlangen. 
Fraunhofer died in 1826 of lung disease, presumably due to exposure to lead oxide 
from glassmaking. He was only 39 years old when he died. 

The author observes that after Fraunhofer's death, he "became a powerful 
historical example of the benefits of merging scientific research and technological 
innovation with industrial and state support .... Hermann von Helmholtz and Ernst Abbe 
used Fraunhofer to unify the efforts of science, technology, and industry during the 
1870s and 1880s." (page 9) 

The book includes a number of black and white illustrations, a time line appendix, 
an extensive bibliography, and an index. It uses an interesting and well-researched 
historical story to illustrate relationships of science, craft, industry, and the state. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 42 



Book Review: Spectacles, Lorgnettes and Monocles 

Spectacles, Lorgnettes and Monocles, 2"d ed. D.C. Davidson and R.J.S. 
MacGregor. Buckinghamshire, UK: Shire Publications, 2002. 40 pages. ISBN 
0747805458.Paperback. 

David A. Goss, O.D., Ph.D. 
School of Optometry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, dgoss@indiana.edu 

This is an attractive little (21 x 15 em) forty page booklet describing rivet 
spectacles, seventeenth century to twentieth century spectacles, lorgnettes, and 
monocles. The book contains 69 illustrations, most of which are nicely produced color 
photographs of spectacles, lorgnettes, and monocles at various times in history. 

A two page introduction discusses the invention of spectacles and has a 
photograph of a replica of rivet spectacles and an illustration of the fact that the frames 
for rivet spectacles could have been cut from the metacarpal bone of a bull. The next 
six pages discuss and picture spectacles from the seventeenth and eighteenth 
centuries. A section headed "Vision and fashion" extends over nine pages and deals 
with scissors spectacles, quizzers, monocles, and magnifying glasses, as well as silver, 
brass, tortoiseshell, and horn spectacles. 

On ages 21 to 32, discussion of "Nineteenth-century developments" includes 
lorgnettes, gold spectacles, steel-wire spectacles, pince-nez, rimless spectacles, and 
others. Three pages are devoted to Chinese spectacles and two pages to spectacles in 
the twentieth century. The booklet concludes with a two page diagram of the 
terminology of spectacles through history, a list of seven books on the history of 
spectacles, and a list of museums in England and Scotland that have collections of 
optical items. 

This booklet can be consulted for a brief but interesting introduction to the history 
of spectacles. Derek C. Davidson was an optician who founded the Ophthalmic 
Antiques International Collectors Club. Ronald J.S. MacGregor is a retired optometrist 
who is the editor of Ophthalmic Antiques, the newsletter of the Ophthalmic Antiques 
International Collectors Club. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History .... January, 2009, volume 40, number I, page 43 



Instructions to Authors 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History is the official publication of the Optometric Historical Society (OHS), 
and, as such, supports and complements the purposes and functions of OHS. The journal publishes historical 
research, articles, reports, book reviews, letters to the editor, and article reviews. The topics of material published in 
the journal include: history of optometry; history of eye and vision care; history of spectacles, contact lenses, and 
other corrective devices; history of vision therapy, low vision care, and other vision care modalities; history of vision 
science; biographical sketches of persons who have worked in or influenced optometry and/or vision science; 
recollections or oral histories of optometrists and persons who have worked in optometry and optometry-related 
fields; and related topics. 

Material submitted for publication should be sent to the editor: David A. Goss, School of Optometry, Indiana 
University, Bloomington, IN 47405; dgoss@indiana.edu. Material may be submitted by postal service or by email, 
although the preferred mode of reception of submissions is a Word document in an email attachment. 

Authors who wish to use direct quotations of substantial length, tables, figures, or illustrations from 
copyrighted material must obtain written permission from the publisher or copyright owner. Short quotations may be 
acknowledged by quotation marks and a reference citation. 

Submissions should include a title, the names, degrees, postal addresses, and email addresses of the 
authors. Abstracts are not recommended for short articles. Abstracts and key words are recommended but not 
necessary for longer articles. 

Tables and figures should be numbered sequentially in the order that the mention of them appears in the 
text, e.g., Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2. Each table and figure should have mention or discussion of it in the 
text of the article. Each table and figure should be accompanied by an explanatory figure legend or table legend. 
Any article containing tables should be submitted as a Word document attachment to an email message with the 
tables produced through the table creating function of Word (as opposed to an Excel or comparable spreadsheet). 

Extensive use of uncommon abbreviations, symbols, and acronyms is discouraged. Common abbreviations, 
such as D for diopters or em for centimeters, may be used. Common symbols, such as IJ. for prism diopters, may be 
used when the context for their use is clear. The first use of acronyms should be accompanied by the name or 
phrase spelled out followed by the acronym in parentheses, as for example: The Optometric Historical Society (OHS) 
has produced a quarterly publication since 1970. 

Acknowledgments should be placed between the text of the article and the reference section. Sources of 
support, such as grant funding or other significant assistance, should be acknowledged. The assistance of persons 
who contributed to the work may also be acknowledged. 

References should be placed after the acknowledgments, and for most papers will be the last section of the 
paper. References should be numbered in order of their citation in the body of the article. Citations should be 
identified in the text by superscript numbers. Authors are responsible for ensuring that reference listings are correct. 
Reference format should be as follows: 

Journal articles: 
Calvo M, Enoch JM. Early use of corrective lenses in Spanish colonies of the Americas including parts of the future 
United States: reference to Viceroy Luis de Velasco (the son). Optom Vis Sci 2003;80:681-689. 

Section in a single author book: 
Hofstetter HW. Optometry: Professional, Economic, and Legal Aspects. St. Louis: Mosby, 1948:17-35. 

Chapter in a multi-author volume: 
Penisten DK. Eyes and vision in North American Indiana cultures: An historical perspective on traditional medicine 
and mythology. In: Goss DA, Edmondson LL, eds. Eye and Vision Conditions in the American Indian. Yukon, OK; 
Pueblo Publishing, 1990:186-190. 

Citations to articles in Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History should be given as follows: 
Bennett I. The story behind Optometric Management magazine. Hindsight: J Optom Hist 2007;38:17-22. 

If footnotes or notes on additional (minor) details are used, they should be marked in the text with 
superscript lower case letters starting with a and continuing in alphabetical order. The notes themselves should be 
the last section of the paper. The heading for the section should be Notes. 

Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History ... .January, 2009, volume 40, number 1, page 44 


	2009-40-01-001
	2009-40-01-002
	2009-40-01-003
	2009-40-01-004
	2009-40-01-005
	2009-40-01-006
	2009-40-01-007
	2009-40-01-008
	2009-40-01-009
	2009-40-01-010
	2009-40-01-011
	2009-40-01-012
	2009-40-01-013
	2009-40-01-014
	2009-40-01-015
	2009-40-01-016
	2009-40-01-017
	2009-40-01-018
	2009-40-01-019
	2009-40-01-020
	2009-40-01-021
	2009-40-01-022
	2009-40-01-023
	2009-40-01-024
	2009-40-01-025
	2009-40-01-026
	2009-40-01-027
	2009-40-01-028
	2009-40-01-029
	2009-40-01-030
	2009-40-01-031
	2009-40-01-032
	2009-40-01-033
	2009-40-01-034
	2009-40-01-035
	2009-40-01-036
	2009-40-01-037
	2009-40-01-038
	2009-40-01-039
	2009-40-01-040
	2009-40-01-041
	2009-40-01-042
	2009-40-01-043
	2009-40-01-044
	2009-40-01-045
	2009-40-01-046