The Greatest Show…of Historic Vision Aids and Models of Ocular Disease

When COVID-19 forced the College of Optometrists’ British Optical Association Museum to shut its doors in March 2020, the closure was “longer-lasting than any contingency plan might have envisaged,” writes curator Neil Handley on the College’s website. 

But, Handley explains, the three-year downtime has given staff an “unprecedented opportunity to tackle documentation backlogs [and] inspect the condition of our optical collection.” More than that, it has allowed for a “radical, full-building refurbishment.” There’s now a new podcast studio, an improved workshop for conserving antique pieces, and a more clinical backdrop for the museum’s “bright and well-lit displays.”

The prolonged closure also seems to have given Handley time to cultivate his inner P.T. Barnum: “We’ll be back as a sight to behold, the ultimate tourist attraction for sightseers, the museum where the exhibits look at you! [...] the go-to place to learn about the history of optometry as an organized and learned scientific profession,” he says.

And we can indulge him, I think. With a collection of 28,000 items – including historic vision aids, “gruesome models of ocular disease,” rare books, artworks, celebrity eyewear, and a fair amount of glass eyes (looking back at you) – the museum certainly sounds worth a visit when the doors re-open in 2023.