Collection of 29 Horses Teeth, Louis Auzoux (1797-1880), Papier Mache

This collection of 29 horses' teeth was assembled by Louis Auzoux (1797-1880), a French doctor who made models of humans, animals and plants for use in teaching medicine and anatomy.

They demonstrate how horses' teeth age, the effects of wind-sucking and crib-biting, and the fraudulent methods employed to make horses seem older or younger than their true age.

While traditional anatomical models used wax, Dr Auzoux's then-secret mixture of papier mache, cork, clay, paper and glue proved far sturdier, as well as cheaper.

Many of his models of fungi, foetuses, mulberries and May beetles, as well as a complete human body that opens to reveal the skull and internal organs, are held by the University of Cambridge's Whipple Museum of the History of Science.

Part of the department of history and philosophy of science, the museum also houses a large collection of early scientific books and instruments dating from the Middle Ages to the present, including telescopes, sundials, early slide rules, pocket electronic calculators and laboratory apparatus.

Text and image found here.

"Excellent Old-School Science Models," Life Magazine Photo Gallery

The images you see above--and the captions below--are drawn from a really fantastic Life Magazine online photo gallery entitled "Excellent Old-School Science Models." You can see the entire gallery of 29 images--well worth your perusal!--by clicking here.

Captions top to bottom, as supplied by the gallery:

1. Isn't She Lovely: Trainee nurses examine a model of a human body to learn anatomy, Gerry Cranham, Oct. 7, 1938
2. Behind It All: A technician works on life-like models for use in science and health lectures at the Cologne Health Museum in Germany, Ralph Crane, Feb 01, 1955
3. Going Deep: A technician at the Cologne Health Museum gets into his work, Ralph Crane, Feb 01, 1955
4. The Egg Factory: An exhibit illustrates the biology of the chicken at the World Poultry Exhibition at the Crystal Palace exhibition hall in London, Fox Photos, Jul 28, 1930
5. Universal: A girl scout leans in to take a closer look at an enclosed model of the solar system, circa 1920s, George Eastman House, Jan 01, 1920

Found via Morbid Anatomy Library intern Amber Duntley's Facebook feed. Thanks, Amber!

Papier-Mâché Anatomist Louis Thomas Jérôme Auzoux's Epic Atelier

Of all the anatomical modelers I know, Dr. Louis Thomas Jérôme Auzoux is one of my least favorites, due to his medium of choice being not the uncanny and fine wax of his precursors but prosaic and utilitarian Papier-Mâché. That said, I really do love this photo of Auzoux's atelier, which one of the presenters at the Auzoux conference at the Boerhaave Museum last year included in their lecture. I was finally able to find a copy online as of this morning; The caption reads "Etablissement du Dr Auzoux - Modèles fabriqués dans les ateliers de Saint-Aubin-d'Ecrosville (Eure)." Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

More on Auzoux and his work can be found on this recent Morbid Anatomy post. Click the image--found it on Arehn's Picassa gallery--to see much larger, more detailed image.

Blaschka "Sea Creatures in Glass" Exhibition," through March 1, 2009, Harvard Museum of Natural History

I have just been alerted to a pretty exciting sounding exhibition now on view at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Called "Sea Creatures in Glass," the exhibition features 58 of 429 artful glass models of sea creatures produced by father/son team Leopold Blaschka (1822-1895) and Rudolph Blaschka (1857-1929) that reside in the museum collection but are rarely on view to the public. From the press release:

58 spectacular glass models of jellyfish, anemones, octopus -- animals crafted by the same renowned artists who created Harvard’s ‘Glass Flowers’. Many years before they were commissioned by Harvard University to make the “Glass Flowers,” father and son artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, meticulously shaped glass and wire into lifelike models of marine animals.

Renowned for their beauty and exacting detail, the Blaschka marine invertebrate models were commissioned by universities and museums throughout world during the 19th century. This new exhibition features 58 of these spectacular glass animals – many never before on public display – taken from Harvard’s collection of 429 models.

Delicate jellyfish and anemones, tentacled squid, bizarre sea slugs (nudibranchs), and other soft-bodied sea creatures captured in glass are a sparkling testament to the Blaschka legacy.

Combined with video, real scientific specimens, a recreation of the Blaschka’s studio with their actual work bench, and a rich assortment of memorabilia, these invertebrate models offer intriguing insights into the history, personality, and artistry of the extraordinary men who created them. (through March 1, 2009) at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA www.hmnh.harvard.edu
617-495-3045
Harvard Square Red Line MBTA

The exhibition will be on view at the museum through March 1st, 2009. I have had the good fortune to see these models at other museums (such as the wonderful Grant Museum of Zoology in London) and can say that they are well worth a special trip; really beautiful, spectacular, fragile stuff, beautifully solving the problem of how to demonstrate the anatomy of such amorphous, delicate creatures which tend to languish, formless, when preserved in spirits.

For more information about the exhibition, directions, etc., visit the museum website here.

Thanks, Blue, for sending this along!

"Lessons in anatomy made easy: Anatomical models in scientific and cultural context," November 6th and 7th, Leiden, The Netherlands

If any of you are around Leiden, the Netherlands, over the next few days, I highly recommend you poke you head in at an international conference on anatomical models called "Lessons in anatomy made easy: Anatomical models in scientific and cultural context." This conference is being held at the wonderful Boerhaave Museum to celebrate the newly completed restoration of the museum's expansive collection of Dr. Auzoux papier-mâché anatomical models. The conference begins at 9 AM tomorrow, and will include a number of speakers from many communities presenting on a variety of topics clustered around the central idea of the art, history, care, and culture of anatomical models. I will be delivering a paper on the art and history of anatomical models as part of this conference at 10:30 on Friday, November 7th.

More on the conference here. More on Auzoux and his work here.

"The Papier-Mache Anatomist" Louis Auzoux, Curious Expeditions

Two of my favorite things in one blog post! First, anatomical models, in this case those of Louis Thomas Jérôme Auzoux. Second, New York City-Based purveyor of hair-art, anatomical prints, and yes, even a life-sized Auzoux anatomical model: Obscura Antiques and Oddities. Check out yesterdays Curious Expiditions post "The Papier-Mache Anatomist" for a great introduction into Auzoux's work and career, as well as a inventory of some of Obscura Antique's many charms.

Above images: Assorted models of Louis Thomas Jérôme Auzoux, most from the wonderful Phisick Antique Medical Collection website.