Dr William Rosenthal

Saturday, June 30, 2007
By John Pope
Staff writer
Dr. J. William Rosenthal, a New Orleans eye doctor renowned not only for his professional skill but also for his vast collection of eyewear, died Thursday at his home. He was 84.

For as long as anyone could remember, eyes were Dr. Rosenthal's passion. He never stopped studying ophthalmology, his specialty, and he never stopped acquiring devices that people used to improve their vision. That collection, which he showed off in lighted cases in his home, included not only everyday eyeglasses and bifocals but also opera glasses; lorgnettes, which women who disdained regular glasses could hold up to their eyes; and Eskimo glasses, which are ornately carved wooden arcs, worn like sunglasses, with slits to cut down the glare from the ever-present snow and ice.

"He probably took the eyeglasses off the Eskimo, because he went everywhere," said Rabbi Edward Cohn of Temple Sinai, a longtime friend, with a chuckle. "There was no place he hadn't gone."

In his extensive travels, Dr. Rosenthal picked up many pairs of Chinese and Japanese spectacles, including smoked glasses that judges wore to hide their facial expressions, as well as ornate cases, some of which were fashioned of lacquered wood and inlaid with mother-of-pearl designs.

Among his more distinctive pieces were late-18th-century fans made of ivory and silk that included small, circular magnifying lenses that acted like telescopes so women could spy on their surroundings while hiding their faces, said Jenny Benjamin, director of the Museum of Vision in San Francisco, which is part of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

That museum, which Dr. Rosenthal helped found, has received more than 2,000 of his spectacles, Benjamin said.

He donated hundreds of pieces from his collection to 16 other museums, said Dr. John Tull, corresponding secretary and treasurer of the Ocular Heritage Society. Among them are the Pharmacy Museum in the French Quarter, the American Optical Co. Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., and the Smithsonian Institution, for which he was an ophthalmic consultant.

Dr. Rosenthal's 530-page book, "Spectacles and Other Vision Aids: A History and Guide to Collecting," which was published in 1996, is regarded as the definitive source on the subject.

"He taught us all," Benjamin said. "There aren't that many texts on the subject, and he did all the original research."

Dr. Rosenthal, a lifelong New Orleanian, had "the collecting gene," said his wife, Beth Rosenthal. "He was knowledgeable, and he was eager to share the knowledge and the pieces he had with others."

Dr. Rosenthal, who was given an initial but never a first name, earned undergraduate and medical degrees from Tulane University, and he earned two postgraduate degrees in science from the University of Pennsylvania.

He had a private practice in New Orleans from 1951 until 2004, when he retired.

"I think of him in his office, going from room to room, seeing patients and running circles around his younger colleagues," Cohn said. "When he walked, he walked with enormous dignity in his doctor's coat. You knew you were in the presence of a master."

Dr. Rosenthal was a former chief of ophthalmology at Touro Infirmary and the Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Hospital, where he also was a former chief of the medical staff.

In addition to his book, Dr. Rosenthal wrote 60 articles for professional journals, and he edited three books on ophthalmology.

"He was a distinguished scholar of world renown," Cohn said, "and yet he was completely down to earth. . . . He could relate to everybody in the most caring, personable way."

He was a former president of the New Orleans Academy of Ophthalmology, and he was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the International College of Surgeons, the Royal Society of Medicine and the French Ophthalmological Society.

Survivors include his wife, Beth Rosenthal; a son, Paul Rosenthal of Baton Rouge; a stepson, Dr. Ted Bloch III; a stepdaughter, Ann Bloch Kern; four grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; and a stepgreat-grandchild.

A funeral will be held Sunday at 11 a.m. at Temple Sinai, 6227 St. Charles Ave. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m.

Burial will be in the Dispersed of Judah Cemetery at North Anthony and Iberville streets.

Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Dr. J. William Rosenthal* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Nov 12 2023, 9:50:36 UTC