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The first programmes of professional education and examination in optics were founded by the British Optical Association in 1895 and the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers in 1898. It was soon felt that those practitioners who had passed these new professional examinations needed a title that would advertise their level of qualification to the general public. Their ranks included a number of jewellers and chemists who engaged in optics as a sideline and wanted recognition for their skills. Chemists, in particular, were finding the optical adjunct to their trade to be a profitable one. For instance, a treatise on the 'spectacle business', and the science and technique involved in it, was published for the benefit of retail chemists in The Chemists' and Druggists' Diary of 1900. It was not surprising, then, that the BOA formed a Nomenclature Committee to investigate the matter.
The committee laid out six considerations that should apply to any nominations. These were:
? That the word could be pronounced at first sight by the man in the street
? That it was easily spelt from its first sound
? That it was not humorous or lacking in dignity
? That it could not be twisted by the lay press into other significations
? That it would have some meaning of sight testing as opposed to a maker of frames and lenses or a medical practitioner
? That it would not have connotations of quackery.
The panel shown here lists alphabetically the submissions made to the committee.
The matter was also considered in the British Optical Journal in 1905, wherein a Mr F G Plaistowe, MA, Queen's College, Cambridge, published notes on the best title for a sight testing optician. His objective was to look at the philology of various proposed terms to gauge the accuracy and appropriateness of their definitions. For instance, he says, 'opsiscopist', from the Greek, opsis (sight) and skopeo (consider, test), is a reasonable neologism that bears comparison with, say, stethoscopist (one skilled in testing the chest). But 'optist' is not only a fake philological formation, but had been used recently to refer to one who makes and inserts artificial eyes. Also considered are terms then in contemporary use, such as 'opticist': a good form of word comparable with physicist, says Plaistowe, and meaning one skilled in optical science; 'ophthalmist' and 'ophthalmologist', both meaning oculist; and ophthalmoscopist.
'Ophthalmician', though not in use, is mentioned too. Derived from the Greek word meaning 'of or pertaining to the eye', it would mean 'one versed in matters pertaining to the eye' and is thus philologically sound as well as being, in Plaistowe's opinion, euphonious and not too long. He likes this word, although he notes that there could be some ambiguity in its use, since an optician in the sense of 'one versed in optics' had come to mean a maker or dealer in optical instruments. Alternatively Plaistowe suggests the use of 'opsiologist': from the Greek, opsis (sight) and logos (science), meaning 'one skilled in the science of the eyesight' or an 'eyesight specialist'; that is, a sight-testing optician. It is a term that is (i) philologically sound, (ii) new, (iii) euphonious, (iv) comprehensive, (v) not too long. For comparison, it should be mentioned that 'optometrist' means 'one who measures sight'.
Fledgling associations
Nomenclature was an important issue for the sight-testing opticians in the early 1900s, as it was a time of growth in the sector and increasing awareness of the need to put the science on a more professional footing. New optical associations were springing up across the country to educate and promote the profession. As mentioned above, the BOA and SMC had introduced professional examinations at the end of the previous century. The Optical Society, London was formed in 1899 to promote scientific and social intercourse between those interested in the science of optics and those engaged in the optical industry, to provide education and to promote the establishment and adoption of standard sizes and methods for use in optics. The Society of Chemist-Opticians was founded in 1904 as a result of correspondence in The Chemist and Druggist to promote the interests and education of that group, and to support the SMC examination scheme. The Institute of Ophthalmic Opticians was formed in 1905 with much the same aims as the Optical Society and, crucially, 'to promote or support any Bill in Parliament directed to the legal recognition of registered opticians and to the limitation of the practice of sight-testing to qualified persons'. In other parts of the country, there were the Manchester and North of England Optical Society (which claimed to be the oldest optical society in the country), the West Riding Optical Society and the Scottish Optical Society to name but a few.
Of course, 'ophthalmic optician' became the preferred title until 1987 when the then British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) dropped 'ophthalmic opticians' from its name. Within the 'ophthalmic optician' period, it is illustrative to see what the General Optical Council said in about titles in a 1964 ruling. Among other restrictions, 'the Council deprecate the use of the word "optician" as a title by itself, or of such phrases as "consulting optician", "ophthalmic consultant" or "ophthalmic practitioner".'
But returning to earlier times, a manual of optical practice published for aspiring chemist-opticians, called The Chemist Optician, published in 1908 as an updated version of the now-defunct Chemists' and Druggists' Diary, provides a useful insight into the changes occurring in the optical world during the period, from a somewhat different perspective from the usual optical sources. It is interesting to note that, at the end of a chapter exploring the discussions on the preferred nomenclature for an ophthalmic practitioner, the author rather dismissively concludes: 'The terms Opsiometrist, Optometrist and Ophthalmometrist as referring merely to the measuring of the vision, do not seem to be comprehensive enough for the modern sight-testing optician. ?