BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
CampripGr, Massacuusetts, JANUARY 9, 1961 
VoL. 19, No. 6 
HOW WERE THE GLASS FLOWERS MADE? 
A Lertrer py Mary LEE WarE 
A Worpb or ExPLANATION 
The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of 
Plants — popularly called the ‘‘Glass Flowers’? —is un- 
doubtedly the most widely known and appreciated public 
attraction at Harvard University. An estimated third of 
a million people annually visit the Botanical Museum where 
they are housed. 
The question which visitors most frequently ask is: ‘How 
were these beautiful flowers made?’’? Another query often 
heard ts: ‘‘Has the secret been lost —did it die with the 
makers?” 
The truth is that there was no secret process employed 
by Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolph, the creators 
of the *‘Glass Flowers.’’ Every techniqne used was known 
to glass workers of the period. According to Mr. Louis 
C. Bierweiler, former Curator of Botanical Collections at 
the Museum and for more than fifty years custodian of 
the models, Rudolph Blaschka expressed to him his regret 
that many people thought that his handiwork utilized secret 
processes; he insisted that his work represented artin which 
there is no room for secrecy or egoism. 
Although there is no complete information on all steps 
in the manufacture of the models, we do have the descrip- 
tion of part of the work in a letter from the late Miss Mary 
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