Eyeworld

137 EW IN OTHER NEWS September 2016 by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Staff Writer antique ophthalmoscopes (which he later donated to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary), and he still has two boxes of glass lantern slides with eye material that date back to the turn of the 20th century. "I've been a collector since the age of 7 when I started collecting coins and stamps," Dr. Fleishman said, noting that he used to have an extensive collection of baseball memorabilia all related to 19th and early 20th century Hall of Famers. The eyeglass collection he would start later in life held a partic- ular interest after he left practice. "Eyeglasses fascinated me because vision is so important. Ev- eryone within his or her lifetime can benefit by having a pair of eyeglass- es," Dr. Fleishman said. "[When] I stopped surgery and pulled away from my career, I started thinking about some of the antiques I had and started studying some of the various collections I had," he said. Noteworthy glasses In addition to his first pair of leath- er-framed eyeglasses, Dr. Fleishman said he now has two other pairs. "I discovered [information about] a sunken ship where they brought up the remains of 20 Goal is to bring "hidden treasures" to light M ore than 30 years ago at the historic Brimfield Flea Market in Brimfield, Massachusetts, David Fleishman, MD, Sharon, Massa- chusetts, came upon an item that would start a fascinating collection and research passion. On a blanket lining the bed of a pickup truck, among various other items, was a pair of spectacles. They were not just any spectacles though. They were antique and leather-framed. "Leather-framed eyeglasses are considered the holy grail for collectors. There are estimated to be about 150 known in the world," Dr. Fleishman said, and for $25 this pair and their simple wooden case were his. Since then, Dr. Fleishman has gone on to add dozens of pairs of antique spectacles to his collection, developed the website Antique Spectacles and Other Vision Aids (www.antiquespectacles.com), and even created an identification guide to help classify and date spectacles from 1725 through the early 20th century. In the decades since finding his first pair of antique spectacles, Dr. Fleishman has consulted with museums, art institutes, local histor- ical society coordinators, libraries, and other curators to provide infor- mation about antique spectacles. Continuing his career with collections Dr. Fleishman was almost destined to become a doctor. "I was one of four boys in the family, and we all became doctors," he said. Two close family friends who were ophthalmologists (one of whom was Harvey Thorpe, MD, Pittsburgh) helped spark his interest in the specialty with medical books, instruments, and notes. This, along with the fact that he was good with his hands, led Dr. Fleishman into ophthalmology. A tremor he devel- oped in his hands after 30 years in practice would be the reason he, regretfully, decided to leave the practice early. His interest in the field re- mained. In addition to antique spectacles, he had a collection of Retired ophthalmologist continues interest with antique spectacle collection continued on page 138 boxes of leather-framed eyeglass- es that were probably being sent from somewhere in Italy down the Croatian coast. The ship sank in 1583. I worked with a curator and got pictures of what was brought up, and no one realized that because of the numbers, this find almost doubled or tripled the number of leather-framed eyeglasses that had ever been discovered," Dr. Fleishman said. "They were in terrible condi- tion, but the glass remained. The first ones I located were in pretty yucky condition, too, both lenses were cracked, but they're still a treasure." Another interesting story related to leather-framed eyeglass- es involved a very elderly woman from the small town of Groton, Massachusetts, who had 20 pairs of old spectacles in a shoe box. Two of those pairs turned out to be leather framed. "I thought, 'My God!' It was an exciting moment for me, but it became an even more exciting moment for her and then for the town," Dr. Fleishman said, explain- ing that two of the largest museum collections of eyeglasses in the United States—at the Museum of Vision of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in San Francisco and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.—only have one pair between the two of them. In addition to discovering and dating antique spectacles, Dr. Fleishman has been invited to work with curators to research particularly historic spectacles, like those owned by President Abraham Lincoln. "Two pairs of eyeglasses were in his pocket when he was assassinat- ed," Dr. Fleishman said of Lincoln, noting that he had been invited by Library of Congress curators to learn more about the late president's spectacles. "One pair, inscribed on the side, was presented by Ward H. Lamon. Ward Lamon was his friend, a lawyer … and this guy became [Lincoln's] personal bodyguard. He gave Lincoln this pair of glasses. Those glasses broke in the White House, but Lincoln tried to repair them with a string. He then contin- ued to carry them with him proba- bly for sentimental reasons. "The other pair of glasses, it turns out, are one of the rarest glasses in history," Dr. Fleishman continued. "They have a patent date stamped on the back of a tiny nose bridge. The solid gold glasses fold, and the side arms are very short, These spectacles are known as Franklin-style split-lens bifocals, believed to have been invented by Benjamin Franklin in the 1760s.

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