In grad school nearly thirty years ago, I was given the work-study assignment to search through decades of obsolete or abandoned lab junk from the old soon-to-be-demolished Zoology building at the University of Minnesota. There were a few salvageable items, plus whole wheelbarrow-loads of complete trash - replacement parts for flame-illuminated microscopes, hundreds of slides of sectioned rat testes from some 1950s endocrinology study, etc - that were barely worth recycling, but also a handful of real treasures that it broke my heart to see in such neglected condition. Most heartbreaking of all were half a dozen or so *gorgeous* glass invertebrate models - jellyfish, larval zooplankton, anemones - that were terribly cracked or broken into pieces. I don't know if they were actually Blaschka handiworks or something another glassblower had copycatted, but if I could go back in time and box up those poor battered things, I'd gladly entrust them to any conservator who could do something to restore them to their full glory. 😞
Amazing videos ... I visited the glass flowers at Harvard some years back before they were cleaned and restored ... the exhibition was fascinating though cramped and poorly lit ... I cannot wait to visit the glass flowers again.
How many places have Blaschka works? Harvard’s Ware Collection of glass flowers has the largest number, New York’s Museum of Natural History has some, Corning Museum of Glass has a few also. A search of the internet reveals a small number of pieces privately sold at auction. Are there other places with any more?
There are 2 in the Treasures Room in the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London UK. I only read about the Ware Glass Collection from a book called Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. The book was good, the collection is just out of this world. I haven't been to America for years but the glass flower collection is definitely worth a visit.
Dublin’s Natural History Museum has a good collection of them, though unfortunately not on display to the public for the last number of years due to problems with the building
Hi NHM, thanks for this upload. I went to your museum, a week or two back and was a bit miffed to see only a few of these on display. Any chance you can display more, in the near future?
amazing - how did they provide such intricate detail in glass - obviously they were brilliant scientists and artists
In grad school nearly thirty years ago, I was given the work-study assignment to search through decades of obsolete or abandoned lab junk from the old soon-to-be-demolished Zoology building at the University of Minnesota. There were a few salvageable items, plus whole wheelbarrow-loads of complete trash - replacement parts for flame-illuminated microscopes, hundreds of slides of sectioned rat testes from some 1950s endocrinology study, etc - that were barely worth recycling, but also a handful of real treasures that it broke my heart to see in such neglected condition. Most heartbreaking of all were half a dozen or so *gorgeous* glass invertebrate models - jellyfish, larval zooplankton, anemones - that were terribly cracked or broken into pieces. I don't know if they were actually Blaschka handiworks or something another glassblower had copycatted, but if I could go back in time and box up those poor battered things, I'd gladly entrust them to any conservator who could do something to restore them to their full glory. 😞
Hurray for the museum!
How incomparable. How beautiful.
Amazing videos ... I visited the glass flowers at Harvard some years back before they were cleaned and restored ... the exhibition was fascinating though cramped and poorly lit ... I cannot wait to visit the glass flowers again.
Astonishing
stunning
How many places have Blaschka works?
Harvard’s Ware Collection of glass flowers has the largest number,
New York’s Museum of Natural History has some,
Corning Museum of Glass has a few also.
A search of the internet reveals a small number of pieces privately sold at auction.
Are there other places with any more?
There are 2 in the Treasures Room in the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London UK. I only read about the Ware Glass Collection from a book called Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. The book was good, the collection is just out of this world. I haven't been to America for years but the glass flower collection is definitely worth a visit.
The Aquarium Museum in Liège Belgium has a collection : about 35 pieces.
Dublin’s Natural History Museum has a good collection of them, though unfortunately not on display to the public for the last number of years due to problems with the building
I saw the glass flowers at Harvard University when I was 10.(1959) I did not see any of these Sea animals.
In the thumbnail, I thought I saw an owl with black tentacles coming out.
Hi NHM, thanks for this upload. I went to your museum, a week or two back and was a bit miffed to see only a few of these on display.
Any chance you can display more, in the near future?
first contact 4 4 2018
for me