OCULAR HERITAGE SOCIETY
SOUTHBRIDGE MEETING
Written by Chuck Letocha (OHS Board)
Ocular Heritage Society - Hosted by the Museum
Prepared by OHS Board Adviser, Chuck Letocha & Museum Exec. Director, Dick Whitney - 2023
The Optical Heritage Museum recently hosted the first face to face meeting of the Ocular Heritage Society since the Pandemic. Prior to that, this group has met every year since 1983 to visit museums of interest. They have travelled the world and It was an honor to have them come to Southbridge and the Optical Heritage Museum. Their 3 day meeting included additional museum visits at Yale University and Old Sturbridge Village to view and explore their collections.
This (OHS) group consists of experts in the field of Antique Spectacles, and for this meeting 3 members from England, 4 from California and other from around the country participated. It was a terrific experience and made special bonds with them all.
When I agreed to be the host for 2023, I was given much support from others and but would like to give special thanks to Chuck Letocha (past OHS President) who guided me when planning this event. His summary of the meeting is shown below.
-Dick Whitney
The group standing the famous “Eye Glass Monument”
This year, the Ocular Heritage Society held its first in-person meeting since 2019.
Written by Chuck Letocha
It was good to see fellow collectors and friends once again. A few came from as far as California and three (Neil Handley, John Dixon Salt, and Sarah Salt) crossed the pond to join the others.
We had the privilege to see many incredible things in the area. Beginnig on the Thursday, we saw scientific/medical objects at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. They have a strong American silver spectacles collection, including a pair made by Thomas Pons and an American-made pair of Martin’s visual glasses. We then saw optically related items from the Peabody Museum and toured the Crafting Worldviews exhibition at the Art Gallery. We completed the day by visiting the Harvey Cushing Collection at the Medical Historical Library.
Examining silver spectacles at Yale University
On Friday, we toured the Olde Sturbridge Village collection of spectacles and other vintage artefacts, including a Benjamin Martin microscope. We were greeted by OSV Staff: Rebecca Beall, Tom Kelleher, Derek Heidemann, and Amy Hietala. They selected many of the Antique Spectacles in their storage area for a private viewing. We also were permitted into their Research Library and enjoyed looking through their archives.
Later that day, we saw the items in the Optical Heritage Museum (the successor to the American Optical Museum). Perhaps the most interesting item there is a six-lens pair of spectacles – a flip-down set plus 2 side lenses, none with power. We also were given access to examine items in the Museum archives. Ruth Pollack (a former OHS who passed in 2014) had a vast collection of 900 items that were donated, and we went thru and examined each item.
Private viewing in the OSV Antique Spectacle storage area
On Friday evening, our host, Dick Whitney, had arranged for a special dinner at the beautiful home of Debbie Schiro (OHM Director). Gabriel McCarthy was the chef and Dicks family helped serve. The meal was outstanding.
On Saturday, we had talks followed by the business meeting. Subjects included the spectacle maker, Thomas Keith (Diane Matuck); spectacle cases (Drew Miller); advertising methods (Paul Sikorovsky); the British American Optical Company (Neil Handley); spectacle peddlers (Chuck Letocha); and the Influence of American Optical in the eyewear industry (Dick Whitney).
Discovering the archives at the OSV Research Library
Most of the business meeting was spent trying to come up with ways of recruiting new members. It was decided that an updated website and having a newsletter prepared at least twice a year would be good first steps. Attendees had the opportunity to purchase items from the John and Val Tull collections. Next year’s meeting will be in Asheville, North Carolina, hosted by Jamin Quilla.
As part of the Business meeting, the following officers were elected:
President - Jamin Quilla
Vice president - Drew Miller
Recording secretary - Cheryl Mitchell
Treasurer - Tony Chahine
Membership: Maureen Letocha
Board of advisors: Dick Whitney, Chuck Letocha, Neil Handley
Newsletter - Jenny Benjamin
Historian - Chuck Letocha
Website - Drew Miller
About the Ocular Heritage Society
The Ocular Heritage Society was founded in 1984 by Audrey Davis at the Smithsonian Institute. The Society is a friendly rather than competitive group composed of members who appreciate, conserve and collect items relating to the ophthalmic sciences. Many are accomplished historians specializing in such topics as spectacles, quackery, instrumentation and the personalities of the ophthalmic sciences.
