Department of Optometry and Visual Science, City University, London, United Kingdom.
A complete English translation is presented of the communication given in 1888 by Professor Photinos Panas in which he reported the innovative use by his junior colleague, Dr. Eugène Kalt, of a contact shell in a case of keratoconus. The patient showed a dramatic visual improvement but tolerance of the shell was limited to a few hours. A biography of Kalt is included, together with a number of explanatory notes.