Learning through glass: The Blaschka marine models in North American post secondary education

Abstract

The use of the Blaschka marine models in North American educational institutions from 1870–1890 is detailed. Historical records of purchase from the Henry Augustus Ward papers and Leopold Blaschka's business notebooks and correspondence were examined to show how the models were received by curators and educators in North America, the significance of the models in marine biology education for secondary school teachers, and the role that Ward's Natural History Establishment played in the distribution of the models. A historical perspective of the business relationship between Henry Ward and Leopold Blaschka is presented. The taxa of the models ordered in North America are documented, as is the use of models demonstrating ontogeny of the organism. Educational practices of the period are explicated and the uses of the models to support contemporary biological concepts of the organism are elucidated through examination of Model 191a, a male colony of the hydroid, Tubularia.

Keywords:

• invertebrate
• Tubularia
• Ward
• teaching
• biology

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and completed while on sabbatical leave from York University. Business letters and records of the WNHE were made available at the University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections library. The Corning Museum of Glass Rakow Research Library provided access to Leopold Blaschka's business records and Henri Reiling's related works. The Resource Sharing department of York University Library was helpful in obtaining documents on post-bellum education in the United States. Appreciation is extended to the librarians, archivists, and staff at all three institutions.