Cotton leaf and flower vacuum-form mold, circa 1967

Item — Object: 30

Identifier: Mem_inv_567

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Vacuum-form mold used to make cotton leaves for an exhibit, possibly around 1967.

Vacuum forming involves heating a sheet of plastic to a forming temperature. The sheet is then forced against a mold using a machine vacuum which draws the hot pliable plastic sheets over the leaf plaster molds. This process picks up and transfers all the details of the leaf mold to the plastic sheet. After the sheet cools, each leaf is cut out and has a wire attached to it. Each leaf is then airbrush is natural color. Metal squeeze molds can also be used instead of plaster. In this case, plastic sheets are placed between the molds and clamped tightly under very hot water so that they can take the impression.  

Dates

Usage: circa 1967

Extent

1 Objects

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Physical Location

Cart 6

Bibliography

The American Museum of Natural History: an introduction, C. Ray, 1972.

Quinn, Stephen C. Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History. New York: Abrams; New York: American Museum of Natural History, 2006.