Guido Mocafico: Leopold & Rudolf Blaschka: The Marine Invertebrates

It has long been a dream of Guido Mocafico’s (born 1962) to photograph the masterpiece glass models of marine invertebrates and plants made by Leopold Blaschka (1822–95) and his son Rudolf (1857–1939). This book fulfills that dream and showcases the Blaschkas’ unparalleled dedication to their craft.

Originally from Bohemia but based in Dresden, the Blaschkas worked from the mid-1800s until the 1930s. From clear, colored and painted glass they handmade their intricate models of invertebrate animals (including jellyfish, sea anemones, starfish and sea cucumbers) as well as plants―only on commission and for the purposes of study―mainly in Europe and North America. The objects were not sold to the general public and are today held in museum collections including those of Harvard University, the Corning Museum of Glass/Cornell University and the Natural History Museums in London and Dublin.

It was a difficult process for Mocafico to gain authorization to photograph the Blaschkas’ creations, as most museums do not display these extremely fragile models. Nonetheless, Mocafico pursued the largest Blaschka collections throughout Europe and eventually gained access to photograph their hidden treasures in his trademark style.