Frank Boryca works diligently on the preparation of a 

 portion of a plant model. 



Meticulous attention to detail is apparent in this model of 

 a Bell Pepper, Capsicum frutescens var. Grossum. 



Akeley probably used scissors to cut the serrations into 

 leaf edges. Because tools for this task are not commercially 

 available, Boryca has devised and made his own. He has 

 welded bits of fine-toothed hacksaw blades to ordinary pajjer 

 punches which enable him to bite very uniform and delicate 

 serrations into leaf edges. 



Boryca's technical skill and expertise have not, however, 

 reduced his job to a rote repetition of daily tasks. Each 

 plant reproduction presents new problems to be solved. Be- 



fore beginning to make a reproduction, Boryca studies the 

 plant in life whenever possible; he studies botanical draw- 

 ings and photographs; he examines the actual plant micro- 

 scopically and makes careful notes regarding the color and 

 structure. The importance of this preliminary study is em- 

 phasized by George E. Peterson, Technical Supervisor, Ex- 

 hibition Department, American Museum of Natural History, 

 when he says, "No techniques or methods, no matter how 

 highly developed or skillfully carried out, can succeed in 

 giving life to artificial plants unless the preparator is him- 

 self completely familiar with all aspects of the plant in its 

 growing state. He must have observed nature itself with 

 such care that he will recognize not only by his artistic in- 

 stinct, but also by his highly trained eye, any fold or permu- 

 tation of an artificial plant that is not consistent with its 

 appearance in nature." '- 



Right now Boryca is working on a reproduction of 

 Thumbergia, a plant replete with engineering difficulties. 

 He had to experiment to find a way to join the blossom's 

 six petals to the stem because there is no petiole to cover the 

 point of fusion. Therefore, the six supporting petal wires 

 must narrow to one slender stem wire. Precise and delicate 

 soldering was the solution. 



Obviously, such care and attention to detail is time-con- 

 suming and, as is so often heard, "Time is money." There- 

 fore, Lothar Witteborg, Chief, Exhibition Department, is 

 planning to begin use of the method of vacuum forming. 

 "This process of shaping thermoplastic sheets by means of 

 air pressure or negative pressure is used on multiple or gang 

 molds" '^ when a vast number of leaves is required to fill out 

 the background of a case. Coloring may be done with an 

 air brush, further saving time while achieving an even, 

 transluscent finish. Using this method, the 17,000 leaves 

 made over a period of years by Akeley and his staff could 

 easily be done in three months by two or three people, ac- 

 cording to Witteborg. 



From milliners' supplies to Akeley's "Four Seasons" dis- 

 coveries and on through the years to plastic, progress con- 

 tinues to be made in plant reproduction. The plants are 

 increasingly efficient to produce and are ever more lifelike 

 and lovely. The poet, Alexander Pope, once said, "All 

 nature is but art," and here at Field Museum the imitation 

 of nature has become an art as well. 



' Mary L. Jobe Akeley, The Wilderness Lives Again. Dodd, 

 Mead & Co., New York, 1940, p. 68. 

 ' Akeley, p. 69. 

 ' Akeley, p. 69. 



* Frederick A. Lucas, "Akeley as a Taxidermist." Natural 

 History, Vol. XXVII, no. 2, p. 151. 



' Akeley, p. 68. 



• Akeley, p. 68. 

 ' Akeley, p. 71. 

 » Akeley, p. 72. 

 'Lucas, p. 151. 



•» Akeley, p. 75. 

 " Akeley, pp. 73-74. 



"George E. Petersen, "Artificial Plants." Curator, Vol. 1, 

 no. 3, Summer 1958, p. 34. 

 " Petersen, p. 26. 



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