Henri's berichten over zijn recente activiteiten

Henri's reports on his recent activities

woensdag 27 mei 2020

1863 Catalogue of Marine Glass Models - Introduction

 May 27, 1822, Leopold Blaschka was born.
Today we commemorate his life and achievements as a scientific artist.
It is his 198th birthday. 

🔘

Leopold Blaschkas first catalogue was retrieved in the digital archives.
It was printed in  "Mitteilungen der Deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, Volume 4 (1863)". Apart from that, a  two-sided leaf with the same text (Impressum: Dresden, Druck von E Blochmann & Sohn.) was bound in "Die neuentdeckten Vögel Neuhollands. Zweiter Band. Abt. 1.2 / by Ludwig Reichenbach (1845).


Translation in Eglish


Marine aquariums with Sea Anemones [Aktinien] or (ray)flower Anthozoans [Strahlblumen-Polypen]
for  decorating elegant rooms as well as for  instruction,
for teaching institutions and for museums
artificially produced

by
L e o p o l d   B l a s c h k a
 
 At the instigation, and under the guidance of Mr. Hofrath Reichenbach, Director of the Royal  Natural History Museum in Dresden, the undersigned has succeeded in presenting  the most magnificent  sea anemone species [Aktinien] for this museum in such a way, that several zoologists returning from the Versammlung der deutschen Naturforscher [conference of German naturalists], as well as the President and the Adjunct Members of the Kaiserl. Leopold.-Carolinischen Akademie der deutschen Naturforscher [Imperial Leopold. Carolinian Academy of German naturalists], who were present here for the conference as well as some experts who had just arrived here from England and France, and who had seen the sea anemones there shortly before, honoured them with their complete recognition.
In order to promote the sense of nature and  knowledge of it, I have been allowed, in the same way and according to the same instructions, to artificially represent the so popular, but most precious and very quickly perishable marine aquariums with such extremely beautiful and manifold "Aktinien"  or sea anemones, or with other small sea animals and to be ordered additionally, so that these, infused with ordinary, pure well water, remain imperishable and unchangeable in their beauty.
To decorate rooms, such aquariums are provided in glass containers with a corresponding number of the most beautiful sea anemones, for 3 Thaler. When shipped outward, a small fee for packaging is added.
The same type of aquarium can be used for teaching in schools, but for careful scientific study, for larger educational  institutions such as universities and their museums, or for natural  history collectors, I can supply ten and even more different aquariums and  I also offer a selection of the species of sea anemones from the following list, combined in a glass container, but that cannot be made available  for an amount under  three Thalers. 

In the next blogpost: the list of available glass marine models in 1863

New Insight:
Rudolf Blaschka wrote to Goodale on January 6, 1896, that the first glass sea anemones were exhibited in water tanks, as Leopold describes above. It is always assumed that  the models were presented in dry aquariums - but here we read they were steeped into water for maximun effect as an artificial aquarium. 

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