Catalogue Number: 1336 The methodical examination of the eye Category: Book Sub-Category: Significant book (Aitken collection) Author: LANG William Year Of Publication/Manufacture: 1895 Edition: 1st Edition Time Period: 19th C Place Of Publication/Manufacture: London Publisher/Manufacturer: Longman, Green and Co Description Of Item: 8ov, original navy blue cloth cover, 96 pages, many illustrations (from photographs) of ophthalmological procedures. Bookplate of Thomas Bickerton on front paste down. At page 20 opposite a description of the use of Priestly-Smith's keratometer is a tipped-in letter from Priestly Smith to Bickerton. At page 31 there is a handwritten correction to the text presumably by Bickerton. Historical Significance: William Lang (1852-1937) was one of 113 founder members of the Ophthalmology Society of the UK in 1881 and a prolific writer on a range of ophthalmic subjects but this was his only book. It was written for ophthalmologists in training. It was Part 1 of a series of such books but the later parts were never written. See Br J Ophthalmol 1937 21: 568-572 for an obituary for Willam Lang. The previous owner Thomas Bickerton was probably ophthalmologist Thomas Herbert Bickerton (1857-1933), See Obit Br J Ophthalmol 1934 18: 58-60. He was the son of Thomas Bickerton, a distinguished and pioneering Liverpool surgeon and early ophthalmologist Priestley Smith (1845-1933) was Professor of Ophthalmology in the University of Birmingham and a leading ophthalmologist of the period in the UK. How Acquired: Purchased by Kett Museum (Abe Books $70) Date Acquired: Oct 2009 Condition: Very good Location: Nathan Library. Aitken collection |