Complutense Optical Museum
Collections
The collection contains more than six hundred pieces, mainly optical instruments. Most of the items in this museum are objects from the 19th and 20th centuries, but there are also some 18th-century objects. The most common items in the collection are eyeglasses and lorgnettes, including a large number of opera glasses, many of them finely decorated. The Museum also cares for an extensive collection of optometric instruments such as stereoscopes, photographic cameras and movie cameras, glasses and telescopes, ophthalmoscopes, ophthalmology instruments, etc. About forty per cent of the Museum"s items is now on display. The Museum is currently under renovation so as to expand space for temporary and thematic exhibitions in the near future.
History
The Complutense Optical Museum opened on December 16th, 2011, primarily thanks to Francisco Ramos who donated his private collection of sunglasses and optical equipment, the bulk of the current funds of the Museum. Francisco Ramos donated his collection on his own initiative and he expressed his wish for the collection to be located at the School of Optics. The Museum has barely just started its activities and is planning a future expansion that will allow it to perform numerous cultural activities related to the history of optics.
