Collection of printed illustrations of historical items held in the museum of the British Optical Association
 Catalogue Number: 1579 Collection of printed illustrations of historical items held in the museum of the British Optical Association Category: Papers Sub-Category: Drawing or etching Corporation: The Dioptric Review Year Of Publication/Manufacture: 1930 to 1939 Time Period: 1900 to 1939 Place Of Publication/Manufacture: London Publisher/Manufacturer: The Dioptric Review and the British Optical Association Press Description Of Item: Collection of about 82 illustrations (some with one or more copies) of items held in the Museum of the British Optical Association that were published in the 'Dioptric Review' between 1930 and 1939. Some are reprints of the illustrations on glossy paper and some are lightly pasted on card. Some are in colour. All have a caption. Some bear the words 'From the Press of the British Optical Association'. It is a diverse set of illustrations, from paintings and etchings, spectacles to decorative objects, all having a connection to vision, the eyes and spectacles. Historical Significance: This is rich collection of a diversity of things ophthalmic and historical. The picture is an example of the illustrations. It is a richly decorated box containing a flask of St Walburga's oil, an example of the kind of souvenirs sold to pilgrims visiting St Walburga's tomb in the Abbey at Eichstart. St Walburga's oil is exuded from the rock beneath her tomb and has curative properties for diseases of the eye. The Museum of the British Optical Association began in 1901 and is now in the hands of the UK College of Optometrists http://www.college-optometrists.org/en/knowledge-centre/museyeum/index.cfm. It is probably the world's most outstanding collection of items concerned with optometry. The Dioptric Review was the journal of the British Optical Association and was published between 1930 and 1939. Condition: Good Location: Archive office. Pamphlet and ephemera filing cabinet. Drawer 4 |