Contact lens technique: a concise and comprehensive textbook for practitioners

Historical Significance: This is the 2nd edition of what was probably the first book devoted entirely to contact lenses. The 1st edition was published in 1941 (Cat No 2613) the same year as this edition. The first edition was self-published using a typewriter with the pages stapled. This edition has been properly printed and bound but is not greatly changed. This copy gives the author as the publisher but another copy of it held in the Aitken Collection Cat no. 2635 has a label pasted over the author/publisher's name indicating the publisher is the New York Contact Lens Research Laboratories, The number of pages is slightly greater in this second edition but the preface to this edition states there have been only a few minor changes. While this book is probably the first text book on contact lenses, it might be said to have been preceded by a manual written by William Feinbloom entitled The Feinbloom Plastic Contact Lens. manual of instructions 45 pages published in 1940 but that book is more an instruction manual for a particular contact lens type than a contact lens textbook. Other early contact lens books followed quickly: Obrig's Contact Lenses 1942, Feinbloom's The practice of fitting contact lenses 1942 (based on articles in J Amer Optom Assoc 1941), Anderson's Technique of fitting contact lenses 1944, Dickinson and Hall's An introduction to the prescribing and fitting of contact lenses 1946, Salvatori's A scientific method of fitting contact lenses 1947, Bier's Contact lens routine and practice 1953. Beacher (1905-1987) qualified in optometry with an OD at the Pennsylvania State College of Optometry in 1927, where he taught from 1929 to 1931. He wrote several other optometry books and three psychology textbooks and his autobiography (1985). See Hindsight 2015; 46(2): 27-31 for more information on the little known author. This book had further editions in 1944, 1946 and 1974.