Spectacles and the Victorians: Measuring, defining and shaping visual capacity
Gemma Almond-Brown
Published:
2023
Online ISBN:
9781526181374
Print ISBN:
9781526161352
Contents
- < Previous chapter
- Next chapter >
Spectacles and the Victorians: Measuring, defining and shaping visual capacity
Gemma Almond-Brown
Chapter
Get access
Gemma Almond-Brown
Pages
163–206
-
Published:
September 2023
Cite Icon Cite
Cite
Almond-Brown, Gemma, 'The limits of professionalism: medical practitioners, opticians and popular responses to sight loss, 1880–1904', Spectacles and the Victorians: Measuring, defining and shaping visual capacity (
Close
Search
Close
Search
Advanced Search
Search Menu
Abstract
This chapter shines light on how mass production of spectacles expanded the spectacle market outside medical control. It analyses the tensions and shared concerns that emerged between opticians and medical men concerning professional jurisdiction over an increasingly lucrative market. It draws upon material culture and a broad and extensive range of archival and digital sources: advertisem*nts, medical texts, medical journals, The Optician, opticians’ texts, newspapers and periodicals. It argues that the 1890s were an intense period of inter- and intra-professional debate between ophthalmologists and opticians. In exploring popular responses to sight loss, it demonstrates that, while opticians were effective in maintaining their position as experts, both opticians’ and medical practitioners’ authority as experts was challenged by the increasing availability of spectacles amongst miscellaneous high street retailers and conflicting popular advice. Spectacles were a uniquely common and ubiquitous assistive device and popular beliefs that the dispenser did not need to possess professional expertise continued to circulate. Opticians and ophthalmologists increasingly collaborated to regulate dispensing practices against a backlash and popular demand for cheap or high-end stylish frames on the high street that paid little consideration to their efficacy or functionality.
Keywords: British Optical Association, Spectacle Maker’s Company, The Optician, medical capitalism, professionalisation, medical orthodoxy, self-help ideology, medical marketplace
Subject
History of Science and Technology
You do not currently have access to this chapter.
Sign in
Get help with access
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Sign in Register
Institutional access
- Sign in with a library card
- Sign in with username/password
- Recommend to your librarian
Sign in through your institution
Sign in through your institution
Institutional account management
Sign in as administrator
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
- Click Sign in through your institution.
- Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
- When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
- Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
- Click Sign in through society site.
- When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
- Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
- View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
- View the institutional accounts that are providing access.
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing information
Metrics
Metrics
Total Views 0
0 Pageviews
0 PDF Downloads
Since 5/28/2024
Citations
Powered by Dimensions
Altmetrics
More from Oxford Academic
History of Science and Technology
Science and Mathematics
Books
Journals
