Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka of Dresden, Germany made glass models of marine invertebrates for the Museum in the late 19th Century. These are popular exhibits and very important in the history of natural history model making. The Museum holds over 500 pieces and has undertaken research on the conservation of these delicate objects. There are several publications about this collection, and papers from a Blaschka conference in Dublin have been published in the journal Historical Biology.
Online Resources
Corning Museum of Glass Exhibition
Books
- Monaghan, N.T., Sigwart, J.D. and McGuinness, C.A. (2006) Blaschka glass models. National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. €3 from the Museum shop
Articles
- Barnes, L. 2016. The conservation of a collection of Blashka glass models from the Natural History Museum, Dublin. In: Miles, R. (eds) Conservation activities in Ireland III and IV: 69-72. Wordwell Ltd, Dublin.
- Monaghan, N.T. 2003. Modelling nature. Irish Arts Review Winter 2003: 120-123
- Proceedings of the Dublin Blaschka Congress. Historical Biology vol. 20 issue 1, 2008
- Walshe, D. and Monaghan, N.T. 2003. The collection of Blaschka Glass Models in the Natural History Museum, Dublin. Museum Ireland 13: 43-48.