Glass Octopus Made by Blaschka
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Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka were father-son glass artists who worked in Germany from the mid 1800s to early 1900s. They created incredibly detailed glass models of invertebrates and flowers that were used in teaching before photography and video became prevalent. Cornell has a spectacular collection of marine invertebrates made by the Blaschkas that are currently being restored and displayed at several locations on campus. Due to the extreme fragility of these pieces they can only be removed from museum cases by a curator, making a VR of the specimen a great way to view it non-destructively.