Description

Hard contact lens fitting set 1960

Danker and Wohlk hard contact lens fitting set. These are trial lenses used to fit a person with PMMA contacts. PMMA means polymethylmethacrylate. These lenses were popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Eventually they were replaced by RGP (rigid gas permeable) lenses and soft lenses.
This set has 29 of the original 30 lenses present.
The lid says “R.G. Small, M.D.” . Google lists an ophthalmologist by this name in Oklahoma City. In 2014, he is 87 years old.
The hard corneal contact lens required extreme patience from the patient and the fitter. They had to allow oxygen-laden tears to circulate beneath them. They also need to remain centered on the cornea to allow for good corrected vision. Thankfully, in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s they were largely replaced by gas permeable contact lenses and soft lenses, both of which allowed oxygen to go through the lens as well as around it.

History of contact lenses part 1
History of contact lenses part 2