The Glass Flowers at Harvard

Also included two brochures: Glass Flowers in the Ware Collection (1963) and How Were the Glass Flowers Made (1961)

While the glass flowers of the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants arrived at Harvard University between 1887 through 1936, they still find their way into contemporary literature today (read the 2022 bestseller "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"). Considered one of the University's greatest treasures it is the only collection of its kind in the world. Over the course of fifty years, the Blaschka's made 847 life-size models representing 780 species and varieties of plants in 164 families, as well as over 3,000 models of enlarged parts.

Condition: Hardcover black cloth boards with silver text on the spine have been protected by a beautiful decorative, unclipped, dustjacket that is in good+ condition with minor rubbing, a flaw at the letter "S" and slight curling at the edges. The spine, boards, and corners are in near fine condition with no cosmetic blemishes and all corners sharp. The binding is straight and tight, hinges are firmly attached with no cracking to the end papers. Text block is firm with all pages firmly attached. The interior pages are clean with no tears, no chips, and with only a previous owner bookplate on the front endpaper (that has the previous owner's name removed). More than one hundred models are beautifully Illustrated with photographs both intext and full page. 118 pages including glossary and index.

The introduction covers the history of the Glass Flowers. Commissioned in 1886 by Professor George Lincoln Goodale, the first director of the Harvard's Botanical Museum, to aid in teaching and serve as the premier botany exhibit in what is now the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The models were made from 1887 through 1936 by Leopold (1822 – 1895) and Rudolf Blaschka (1857 – 1939), father and son glass artists who lived and worked in Hosterwitz, Germany, near Dresden. Mrs. Elizabeth C. Ware and her daughter Mary Lee Ware financed the collection and presented it to Harvard University as a memorial to Dr. Charles Eliot Ware, Class of 1834.