The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-04-10
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HOW EYEGLASSES ARE MADE.

Ordered, As Medicines Are. by Prescription
Some Notable Notes.
1t is only in the last ten or fifteen
years that the oculists have entirely
succeeded the opticians in the work OF
measuring" the human eyes for eye.
| glasses. Twenty-Five years ago an oc.
ulist's prescription for a pair of glasses
was almost unknown in New York,
the selection of glasses being made al.
most entirely by the opticians. Now
all first-class opticians bear the same
relation to the oculists that druggists
do to physicians; they fill prescriptions
only. This has been brought about.
more than by anything else, by the in.
vention, or perfection, of the ophthal-
moscope by Helmholz Its used has
specialized" the eye, as the scientists
say. to such a degree that man whose
business it is to make glasses cannot
possibly do that and also keep up with
the procession of those who are burn.
ing the midnight oil in study of basal
optic ganglion, optic chiasm, commits
sure of the optic nerve, stylommato-
phora and thalamencephalon.
The optician sticks to his lens, and
that gives him plenty to do. He must
know all about the incident and emer-
gent parts of a ray of light as they are
affected by pieces of glass, and not by
the eye. He must be fine mechanic,
capable of making by prescription
glasses in which are observed all that
the oculist prescribes as to double-con-
vex, doubleconcave, plano-convex,
plano-concave, concave-conveX. and all
those sort of things. He knows that
the oculist, in examining the patients
eyes, has used an apparatus by which
he may have detected a variation Of
Liza of an inch from an ex-
act circle, where an exact cir.
construction of the eyes, and equally
exact apparatus for the detection of
other variations, and prescribed in a
manner to remedy those variations.
So the optician must be equally exact
in his work. The filing of these pre-
scriptions is the work of artisans, who
correspond to the chemists in the drug
stores. They follow the oculist's fig
ures relating to axis, planes, convexes,
concaves, sizes and shapes, as the
chemists observe the portion of drugs
called for, and with equal accuracy.
They first fasten a square of glass on
the end of tool, take it to another
tool which looks like saucer rapidly
revolving, and rough grind the glass.
This saucer is selected by prescription,
as it has the curve called for. The
glass is ground on both sides as re-
quired, first with rough emery, then
fine emery, and at last, for the polish
ing. in iron rouge, paste which seems
to be made of impalpa bly, fine iron ore
powder. Even the polishing must be
done so as not to disturb the exactness
with which the glass has been shaped,
so the polishing cloth is fastened on
the revolving tool, preserving the de-
gree of the curve desired. Then the
glasses are taken by other men who.
still working by prescription, fit the
lenses with regard to the angle of the
axis called for. So the work proceeds
until the finished pair of specs" or
nose pinchers is turned over to the pa
tent, accurate in every measurement
and adapted to remedy the Imperfect
ton discovered by the ocuEst.
The only fitting which the optician
does nowadays not under the direction
of the oculist is the adjustment of the
pince-nez. Big and little, pug and
aquiline, long and short, fat and thin
noses, must be equally suited by the
spring connecting the two lenses, and
in doing that the opticians clerks ''try
on" the glasses to the patients nose az
a dressmaker tries on gown. A firm
In Union Square have a comforta bic
armchair in the rear of their store
which they value more than anything
else in their possession. In it three
presidents have sat-Garfeld. Arthur
and Cleveland-while the springs of
their glasses have been adjusted to
their presidential noses And in it, too
for the same purpose Commodore Van
derhilt, John Jacob Astor, Cardinal
McCloskey, James G. Blaine, Levi p.
Morton and many other famous men
have sat.
THE greater the man the less exact
ing he is" said one of the proprietors
1T was = long time after he wore
glasses that President Cleveland was
satisfied with the ones he wore. Then
he found what he wanted by accident
Mr.. Henry l. Scott had pair Of glasses
Mr.. Cleveland happened to use once,
and those suited him exactly. We had
the prescription for Mr.. Scott's glasses.
and Mr.. Cleveland ordered duplicate
set made Those suited him exactly.
President Arthur was very particular |
about the set of his glasses but Cardi- |
nal McCloskey would always say that |
anything would do that would STAY OF |
his nose N. Y. San
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