Optometric Historical Society
An organization for persons interested in the history of
optometry, spectacle lenses, vision science, or related topics
Table of Contents
Purposes
Membership
Activities and Functions
Officers
History of the Organization
Optometry Libraries with Historical Information
Links
The purposes of the Optometric Historical Society 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
- to shed honor and recognition on persons, groups, and agencies making
notable contributions toward the goals of the society
Membership in the Optometric Historical Society is open to anyone who is
interested in the history of optometry, spectacle lenses, vision science,
or related topics. Annual dues are $25 (US) for regular membership or $50 (US) for patron membership. Dues for lifetime membership are $250 (US). To join OHS, send your
mailing address and your dues payment to:
Bridget Kowalczyk
OHS Secretary-Treasurer
International Library, Archives, and Museum of Optometry
243 North Lindbergh Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63141 USA
Activities and functions of the Optometric Historical Society are:
- Publication of a quarterly journal, entitled Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History. Hindsight
publishes a regular column by Jay Enoch, noted vision scientist and
optometric historian. Other regular features are reviews of books of
optometric historical interest, reviews of articles published in
various journals, and other tidbits about the history of optometry. We
also publish notes from members who researched various topics or visited
sites of interest. Click here for
contact
information for the editors and for a sample copy of Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History. Manuscripts submitted for publication should be sent to the Editor, David A. Goss, dgoss@indiana.edu.
- An annual meeting and lecture held in conjunction with the annual
meeting of the American Academy of Optometry.
- Recognition of persons contributing to knowledge of the history of
Optometry. Click here for a
list of persons who have received recognition awards from the Optometric
Historical Society.
OHS officers for 2009 are:
President: Irving Bennett, 3307 Seventh Avenue, Beaver Falls, PA 15010; irvbennett@juno.com
Vice President: Chuck Haine
Secretary-Treasurer: Bridget Kowalczyk, American Optometric Association, 243 North Lindbergh Blvd., St Louis, MO 63141; btkowalczyk@aoa.org
Trustees: Jerry Abrams
Jay M. Enoch
Douglas K. Penisten
Melvin Wolfberg
The Optometric Historical Society was the brainchild of Maria Dablemont,
who was hired by the American Optometric Association in 1964 to serve as
librarian for their growing collection of books, journals, and archives.
Dablemont suggested to Henry W Hofstetter during his term as President of
the American Optometric Association in 1968-69 that there should an
organization for the study and preservation of optometric history.
Dablemont knew of Hofstetter's passion for history and his excellent
organizational skills. In
1968 and 1969, Dablemont and Hofstetter drafted a set of by-laws for the
organization and drew up a list of persons to ask to assist them in
founding the organization. The first executive board of the organization
consisted of Maria Dablemont, Arthur Hoare, Henry Hofstetter, John
Levene, and Sol Tannebaum, with Hofstetter as president. In 1969, a call
for membership went out in the optometric press,and 33 members were
enrolled as charter members. The first issue of the Newsletter of the
Optometric Historical Society was published in January, 1970. The
newsletter has been published on a quarterly basis ever since the first
issue. In 1992, the name of the newsletter was changed to Hindsight.
Henry Hofstetter was an editor of the newsletter for over 30 years.
The editors of the newsletter in its 30 plus years have been Henry
Hofstetter, John Levene, Douglas Penisten, David Goss, and Jay Enoch. Starting with 2007, the title of the society's publication is Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History. The
first of the annual meetings of the OHS held at either the American Academy of
Optometry meeting or the American Optometric Association meeting was held
in 1972. Through the years, the presidents and secretary-treasurers of
OHS have been:
| Year |
President |
Sec.-Treas. |
| 1970-1974 |
Henry W Hofstetter |
Maria Dablemont |
| 1975-1976 |
John R. Levene |
Maria Dablemont |
| 1980-1984 |
James P. Leeds |
Maria Dablemont |
| 1985-1986 |
Jerome J. Abrams |
Maria Dablemont |
| 1987-1988 |
Jerome J. Abrams |
Sec.- Maria Dablemont,
Treas.- Douglas K. Penisten |
| 1989-1990 |
T. David Williams |
Sec.- Bridget Kowalczyk,
Treas.- Douglas K. Penisten |
| 1991-1995 |
Meredith W. Morgan |
Sec.- Walter W. Chase,
Treas.- Charles Haine |
| 1996 |
Charles Haine |
Bridget Kowalczyk |
| 1997-2000 |
Walter W. Chase |
Bridget Kowalczyk |
| 2001-2004 |
Douglas K. Penisten |
Bridget Kowalczyk |
| 2005 |
Jay M. Enoch |
Bridget Kowalczyk |
| 2005-2006 |
Charles Haine |
Bridget Kowalczyk |
| 2007 |
Melvin Wolfberg |
Bridget Kowalczyk |
Above is a picture of Maria Dablemont taken at the International Library,
Archives, and Museum of Optometry in St. Louis where she was a librarian.
Below is a picture of Henry Hofstetter taken in about 1952. Dablemont and
Hofstetter were co-founders of the OHS.
Click on the logo below to get names and addresses of some optometry libraries with
historical information
Another organization that studies topics related to
the history of
optometry is the Ocular Heritage
Society. Its area of emphasis is the collection of items of
ophthalmic interest such as spectacles, vision testing equipment, etc.
The Fall, 2003 issue of the Indiana Journal of Optometry was devoted to
a history of the Indiana University Division of Optometry from its
founding to 1975. Click below on the image of the cover of that issue of
the journal to see a downleadable pdf file of that issue. Please note
that it takes a
while for that file to load.
Click here
for notes on a two-hour lecture on the history of optometry given
each year at Indiana University.
An excellent website with much information on antique spectacles is www.antiquespectacles.com.
web page coding by: David A. Goss; email address:
dgoss@indiana.edu
Last update: July 13, 2009