Accession No
6263
Brief Description
set of six cardboard crystal structure models, three with glass faces, by Václav Frič, Austro-Hungarian, 1890 (c)
Origin
Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]; Prague
Maker
Frič, Václav
Class
crystallography; Demonstration
Earliest Date
1890
Latest Date
1890
Inscription Date
Material
paper (cardboard); wood; glass; metal (steel)
Dimensions
Height between 300-380mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Dorotheum Auction House, Palais Dorotheum, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17, Austria. Lot 191 in Historische Wissenschaftliche Instrumente und Globen sale, 29/10/2008.
Inscription
[oval maker’s labels on underside of stands:]
‘LEHRMITTEL / NATURALIEN HANDLUNG / V.FRIC/ PRAG/ No C. 1544-ll./ WLADISLAWGASSE no 21A.’
Description Notes
Set of six cardboard Crystal structure models, three with glass faces, mounted on turned ebonised wood bases, by Vaclav Fric, Czech, c. 1890
All six models consist of a multi-faced three-dimensional crystal structure models made of cardboard, mounted on turned ebonised wood bases. Three models have glass faces that touch some of the faces of the cardboard shape; these are very fragile and held in place by a kind of tape. The glass faces form the dual polyhedron.
Three models are do not have glass faces, although it is possible that they may once have had glass faces.
All the models have faces of alternating colours; cream and beige. They are held to the bases using a metal spindle. This enables the models to be rotated on their central axis.
6263.1 - Model consists of 24 four sided faces
6263.2 - Model consists of 24 three sided faces
6263.3 - Model consists of 24 three sided faces
6263.4 - Model consists of 24 three sided faces with 12 four sided glass faces.
6263.5 - Model consisting of 12 three sided faces with 6 four sided glass faces.
6263.6 - Model consisting of 8 three sided faces with 4 three sided glass faces. One of the glass faces has a large crack , the broken piece is also broken into two pieces.
References
Events
Description
Václav (Wenzel) Frič (1839–1916) opened his natural history business in 1862, which supplied mineral, botanical and animal specimens to private collectors, museums and teaching institutions. As a youth, he studied taxidermy before enrolling in the chemistry program at the Prague Technical University, where he also developed an interest in photography. In 1859-1860 he visited his brother in London for the first time, and the museum collections he saw there inspired him to begin thinking about founding his own natural history company.
To publicise his business, Frič began exhibiting at major exhibition shows. In 1863, he won a silver medal for his geognostic collection at the Volksfest in Linz (Austria). Among his many awards, he received a bronze medal at the Paris World's Fair in 1867, a silver medal at the 1872 Moscow Polytechnic Exhibition, and an honorary medal at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair. In Prague, Frič's shop became a local attraction, and was listed as "Frič's Museum of Natural History" in an 1885 tourist guidebook. By 1911 he himself was calling his business the "Natural History Institute in Prague" ("Naturhistorisches Institut in Prag"), describing his shop as a "trading natural history museum."
All six of these cardboard models consist of a multi-faced crystal structure models. Glass faces on three of the models form the edge of a dual polyhedron.
10/03/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 10/03/2014
FM:46745
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