City Tech Library’s archives is home to the Vogel Ophthalmology Collection, a gift of rare ophthalmic textbooks from the estate of the late Irwin Vogel. Mr. Vogel was an adjunct lecturer at NYCCT before becoming the program director at Cañada College in California and is credited with an optical formula still in use in opticianry.
This collection of approximately 300 volumes has been placed in custodianship in City Tech’s Ursula C. Schwerin Library and is located in the archives. Access to the collection is available by appointment through the Archives Use online request form. The collection is now available for browsing through the library’s online catalog at https://cityte.ch/vogel.Â
As noted by Steven Indelicato, Director of Ophthalmic Dispensing & Vision Care Technology at City Tech:Â
The Vogel Collection is an important and rare resource because it preserves the history and development of ophthalmology, optometry, and vision science through original works spanning more than a century. The collection includes early texts on refraction, lenses, visual physiology, ocular disease, and optical practice, offering a valuable record of how both scientific knowledge and professional training evolved over time. Beyond its research value, the collection gives students, faculty, and historians direct access to primary sources that connect today’s practice to the foundations of the profession.
