Objective: Joseph von Hammer (1774–1856), the Austrian diplomat, historian, and Orientalist, visited Bursa in August 1804 and described an unusual appearance of the eyes that he believed was widespread among the city’s inhabitants. This article examines Hammer’s observation from historical and ophthalmic perspectives.
Materials and Methods: Hammer’s terminology is considered in light of near-contemporary German medical usage. His account is also compared with later descriptions of Bursa by the physicians Charles Lewis Meryon and Charles Ambroise Bernard.
Results: Hammer referred to a “defect of the eyes,” a “kind of squinting look,” and “dazzled eyes,” while acknowledging that he lacked the medical expertise to identify the condition or explain its cause. Trachoma is one possible explanation. It was historically widespread, including in nineteenth-century Europe, and repeated childhood infection could lead to chronic ocular changes. Hammer’s description, however, lacks the findings needed to support that diagnosis. He mentioned no conjunctival inflammation or follicles, tarsal scarring, entropion, trichiasis, abnormal eyelashes, or corneal opacity. His “squinting look” also corresponds poorly to strabismus and is difficult to reconcile with the usual clinical course of trachoma. Meryon, who visited Bursa seven years later, reported no comparable ocular appearance. Bernard later discussed several eye disorders for which Bursa’s thermal springs were used but recorded nothing specific to trachoma. Neither account clarifies what Hammer observed.
Conclusion: The surviving description does not allow a secure retrospective diagnosis. Hammer himself could not explain what he had seen and thought it worthy of investigation by a physician.