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Gottlieb Theodore Danz

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Birth	:	3 Jan 1905 Germany
Death	:	5 Nov 1973 Marin County, California, USA
Burial	:	Mount Tamalpais Cemetery, San Rafael, Marin County, USA
Coordinate	:	37.9861984, -122.5544891
Plot	:	Chapel of Light
Description	:	DANZ, Gottlieb T. – Nov. 5, 1973, Gottlieb G. Danz, beloved husband of Vera Danz; loving father of Theodore, Phillip, William and Walter Danz and Ronald Melnikoff; brother of Mrs. Lonny Haller and Mrs. Lena Griner; a member of the American Society of Ocularist. Services Thursday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. at Martin & Brown, 1801 Van Ness Ave. at Clay. Inurnment, Tamalpais Cemetery. [San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday, November 7, 1973, page 49] ====================== HE PRACTICES A DYING ART by Jerry Belcher A middle-aged master craftsman from Oakland is one of a handful of Americans currently practicing the painstaking art-science of recreating the human eye... Read More	DANZ, Gottlieb T. – Nov. 5, 1973, Gottlieb G. Danz, beloved husband of Vera Danz; loving father of Theodore, Phillip, William and Walter Danz and Ronald Melnikoff; brother of Mrs. Lonny Haller and Mrs. Lena Griner; a member of the American Society of Ocularist. Services Thursday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. at Martin & Brown, 1801 Van Ness Ave. at Clay. Inurnment, Tamalpais Cemetery. [San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday, November 7, 1973, page 49] ====================== HE PRACTICES A DYING ART by Jerry Belcher A middle-aged master craftsman from Oakland is one of a handful of Americans currently practicing the painstaking art-science of recreating the human eye in glass. He is Gottlieb Danz Sr., founder and head of the firm of G. Danz & Sons of Oakland and San Francisco, makers of artificial eyes. Always a rare skill requiring years to learn, the blowing of glass eyes may well be a dying art. (Danz is the only glass eye blower between here aria Chicago.) If the art expires Danz himself will have played a large part in its demise. For he was among the first to develop the acrylic plastic artificial eye, which is growing increasingly popular. At least 80 per cent of Danz1 patients now choose the plastic eye, even though it is initially more expensive. (About $85 for the plastic, $40 for the glass.) Danz, a native of Germany, learned the now waning art during years of apprenticeship under his father and other experts both in Germany and the United States. He learned, as his father had learned from his father before him, how to blow and shape the special glass, how to "paint" in the colors of the iris, sclera (white of the eye) and pupil with oxides and other pigments quickly while the glass orb is still semi-molten. He learned through long experience how to judge and measure almost instinctively the size and shape of the artificial eye needed by patients, each of whom poses an individual problem. And not all of his patients have been human. On rare occasions he has made glass eyes for pet cats, and dogs. And once he created a super-sized eye for a race horse. Danz founded his business in Oakland in 1933. Six years later came the event that started the decline of the glass eye . . . World War II. Although crude artificial eyes were known hi Egypt during the days of the Pharaohs, the first really practicable artificial eye was developed in 1335 by the glassblower Lud'.vig Muller-Uri in the German town of Lauscha. For nearly a century Germany had a virtual monopoly of the special glass used for blowing artificial eyes. When supplies of the glass were cut off by the war, eye makers in England and the United States, Danz among them, began working on the plastic eye. Danz fitted his first acrylic eye in 1941. Meantime, development of the orbital implant was also stepped up. The implant allows the artificial eye to move in synchronization with the remaining natural eye. Over the years the implant technique, in combination with either plastic or glass, has been improved to the point that today in many cases none but the expert can detect whether a person is wearing an artificial eye. The plastic eye, unlike the glass, is cast in a plaster mold. The iris, sclera and pupil are painted in oils. The tiny blood vessels in the white of the eye are minute threads of nylon filament. Danz, 54, knows the plastic eye technique thoroughly himself and has passed it along to two of his sons, Ted, 25, and Phillip, 21. Three younger Danz boys probably will enter the business later. Both Ted and Phillip are highly proficient in working with the plastic. But the demand for the plastic eye is so great that Ted and Phillip have never found time to learn the art of glassblowing. Thus it may be that Danz Sr. will be the last creator of glass eyes in a family that has for more than a century been devoted to that rare profession. Oakland Tribune \| Oakland, California \| Sunday, July 12, 1959 \| Page 139

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Gottlieb Theodore Danz's memorial?
Gottlieb Theodore Danz's memorial is located at: Mount Tamalpais Cemetery, San Rafael, Marin County, USA.
When did Gottlieb Theodore Danz death?
Gottlieb Theodore Danz death on 5 Nov 1973 in Marin County, California, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Gottlieb Theodore Danz's memorial?
Latitude: 37.9861984
Longitude: -122.5544891

Family Members:

Spouse

Vera Peter Bogdanoff Danz

(1919 - 1978)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Mount Tamalpais Cemetery
San Rafael, Marin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9861984, -122.5544891

2. First Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden
San Anselmo, Marin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9703310, -122.5667860

3. Montgomery Memorial Chapel Crypt
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Coordinate: 37.9687940, -122.5638630

4. Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery
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5. Mission San Rafael Arcangel Cemetery
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6. Marin County Farm Cemetery
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Coordinate: 38.0285500, -122.5652530

7. Saint Vincents Orphanage Cemetery
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Coordinate: 38.0355800, -122.5334550

8. San Quentin Prison Cemetery
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Coordinate: 37.9436480, -122.4883760

9. Druid Heights Burial Site
Mill Valley, Marin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8892100, -122.5647100

10. Fernwood Cemetery
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Coordinate: 37.8767014, -122.5231018

11. St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Memorial Garden
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Coordinate: 37.8767515, -122.4712901

12. Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church Cemetery
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Coordinate: 37.9212570, -122.6938858

13. Bolinas Cemetery
Bolinas, Marin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9212600, -122.6938900

14. Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
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Coordinate: 38.1132532, -122.5902599

15. Valley Memorial Park
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Coordinate: 38.1204300, -122.5436300

16. Taylor Cemetery
Lagunitas, Marin County, USA
Coordinate: 38.0272580, -122.7346590

17. Sailors Cemetery
Sausalito, Marin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8442390, -122.4774770

18. Angel Island Cemetery (defunct)
Tiburon, Marin County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8621830, -122.4325920

19. Saint Pauls Cemetery (Defunct)
San Pablo, Contra Costa County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9563332, -122.3430099

20. Salesian Cemetery
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21. Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery
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Coordinate: 37.9612700, -122.3336600

22. Olema Cemetery
Olema, Marin County, USA
Coordinate: 38.0313988, -122.7789001

23. Rolling Hills Memorial Park
Richmond, Contra Costa County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9756012, -122.3146973

24. Presidio of San Francisco Pet Cemetery
San Francisco, San Francisco County, USA
Coordinate: 37.8025490, -122.4671960