SPINELESS

A Glass Menagerie of Marine Invertebrates

“Three naked mollusc(s)” wrote the young sailor-naturalist William Edwin Safford on the USS Vandalia in the South Atlantic in October 1886. An astute observer of floating sea life, Safford, whose journal is now in the collections of Mystic Seaport Museum, chronicled and drew many now-famous sea creatures, including the Portuguese man o’ war and the by-the-wind sailor, two soft-bodied marine invertebrates related to sea anemones. He also beautifully illustrated what he described as a “naked mollusc,” a pelagic snail now known as the blue dragon sea slug or nudibranch, Glaucus lineatus. This tiny, peculiar creature feeds on the venomous Portuguese man o’ war, transforming its stinging cells into its own toxins and enabling it to deliver a sting. Glaucus supports magnificently frilled winglike extensions that help it float in the sea’s surface tension.

So keen were Safford’s observations that he recorded what marine scientists in the 20th century would eventually explain as evolutionary counter-shading. Safford noted his slug “was of a light blue color and deep indigo below.” We now know that their light blue permits them to blend in with the sea surface, thus being less detectable by predators. Another species of sea slug he recorded “was so translucent that I

Could See Its Heart

beating.”

These were the extraordinary chronicles of a young “citizen scientist” at sea in the 1880s. Around the same time, German father-and-son glassmakers Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka were also documenting the exact same species through a medium they knew best: glass. The elder Blaschka, whose early work included botanical models, had been mesmerized in 1853 by invertebrates he also observed on an ocean voyage. A decade later Leopold created his first glass invertebrates, inspired by the drawings and descriptions of the famous naturalist Phillip Henry Gosse. By the mid-1870s, the Blaschkas’ invertebrate production expanded as museums and universities took an increasing interest. By 1888, Ward’s Natural History Establishment offered 700 different, often extraordinarily fragile, glass invertebrate models for teaching and display purposes.

While today the Blaschkas are remembered more for their glass flowers, from the 1860s to the 1880s they focused their work on an invertebrate menagerie, including jellyfish, sea anemones, mollusks, sea squirts, sponges, and many more.

The new exhibition Spineless: A Glass Menagerie of Blaschka Marine Invertebrates features over forty of these magnificent glass models, on loan from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University and other institutions. The models are presented alongside sailors’ journals and rare books containing sketches, watercolors, descriptions, and early photographs—giving an amazing look into the beginnings of natural history documentation at sea.

The exhibition also features “wet specimens” in jars highlighting the challenges and successes of preserving invertebrates for study. When alive and in their natural habitats, many species, especially those with soft bodies, present vibrant colors and unusual shapes. But when preserved, they may quickly become colorless and shapeless. The unique opportunity to view sketches and specimens juxtaposed with their glass representations makes it clear why the Blaschka models, capturing the forms, anatomical details, and brilliant colors of these sea creatures, were such a success.

Documenting marine invertebrates thrives today in the Museum’s own back yard. Spineless co-curator Dr. James T. Carlton, Director Emeritus of the Coastal and Ocean Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport Museum, is one of the world’s leading experts on marine invertebrates and introduced species. Many of the invertebrates that he and his colleagues study are represented by the exhibited Blaschka models along with a short film about his decades-long work documenting the marine life carried for centuries around the world by ships, intricately blending maritime history and marine biology.

Featured as well are thought-provoking pieces by contemporary artists, no doubt inspired by the exquisite glasswork of the Blaschkas.

Spineless, which opened to the public on October 21, will be on display until late summer 2024.

Krystal Rose, Curator of Collections

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, MCZ:SC:288 Glaucus lineatus © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, MCZ:SC:49 Phyllactis praetexta. © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, MCZ:SC:22 Actinoloba reticulata © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, MCZ:SC:60 Sagartia ornata. © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Silent

Except for The way of water

Pushed in by the tide

Out on its own accord Brackish, Lapping at the edges. Deep down

Near the bottom

Where fish live In murky darkness Is the real river. Mud bottom, Sediment Broken shafts of light Wavering–Sometimes a lure, Or the wide hull Of a boat overhead. Some days busy With motors, paddles That break the surface

And then go by. Down here The river is unchanged From when glaciers retreated And there was no one, Then native tribes

Settlers

And now the busy people Us.

When you glance At this river, When you cross the drawbridge, Go about your day, Remember the mystery

How time is held and slips away Here by the Mystic River.

— Jean Baur, Museum Member