RE: Glass Flowers

That had to be awesome Libby! I think this also shows how the 'old era'
of how pride was taken in your work. Thanks for sharing this with us,
although I am betting we all would have liked to seen it. 

Donna

> 
> The flowers were commissioned in 1886 by a professor who wanted to
have
> life-like models from which to teach botany all year round.  They were
> made
> from 1887 through 1936 by a father and son team of glassmakers near
> Dresden,
> Germany.  Not quite all of the models are on display, but I understand
> there
> are over 4000 models of about 850 species, including plant specimen
models
> and then various enlarged flower and plant parts for study as well.
It's
> amazing.  I cannot imagine the skill and patience required to
accomplish
> this - picture a 3 foot section of goldenrod, with all its tiny
flowers,
> including multiple flower-heads, stem, leaves.  Some of the models are
> complete with root systems - basically look just like you pulled the
plant
> up with most of the roots.  Kitty, I thought of you when I was trying
to
> remember some of the specific different plants represented there,
since
> the
> labels had the botanical name (but I'm not sure as of when!) and then
1 to
> 3
> common names for each model.  I'm afraid I tried to remember too many,
> because now I can't, with any confidence in correctness, remember any.
Oh
> well.
> 
> Everything from 7 species of salix to clematis to chickory to venus
> flytrap
> to a couple small cactus in flower - picture one of those, a 6" high
> section
> with hundreds of spines and multiple flowers - must have taken weeks
to do
> just that one! There were 2 models of foot long maple twigs, showing
> summer
> and autumn color, probably a dozen leaves on each twig.  All glass.
And
> they look so real - I kept reminding myself I wasn't just looking at a
> bunch
> of cuttings.  I found the dahlia interesting because the flower was
not
> the
> complex and impressive bloom available today, it was a single flower
with
> a
> small number of wide petals.  I am not familiar with all the history
> behind
> the cultivation of the dahlia, but I believe some of the fancier
varieties
> might well have been developed in the last hundred-plus years, so that
> particular one, and also the clematis, which was very plain, seemed
more a
> model from a historical point in time - the rest of the plants and
flowers
> known to me appeared to look just like they do today.  They were
amazing.
> 
> I wished some of you could have been there to share it with!
> 
> Libby
> Maryland zone 6
> 
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