Catalogue of Fungi

[PREFACE]
...highest praise remains, because they were the first to trace natural paintings of fungi with a willing hand and ingenuity; and to the most laborious man, although his descriptions seem too brief, because with such ardor, and indeed for the most part at his own expense, he gave us three hundred colored plates of a neglected and more worthy family, a treasure to be highly esteemed. I confess I have already said more about others than would be proper for one who should have expected judgment upon his own work. I hope those skilled in the art will notice that most of my plates have been executed with care, and they will attribute the errors of the others to a lack of leisure, the condition of the colors, and a less practiced hand. I have criticized many things that will perhaps often be found in this very book, but I scarcely think one should be carped at who, proposing better things, only attains the inferior through the effort of a lesser work. Often, these paintings must be undertaken too hastily; it happens that other duties call the painter away, or the fungus itself withers before the time necessary to complete the image. Truly, no harm comes to the image from this, since a practiced hand can supply what is missing without detriment to the truth, even if the thing itself is not present or is corrupt, provided that perfection is attempted soon enough, while the memory still preserves the idea. Nor do I think it should be kept silent that I was unable to paint showy specimens, since almost all organic bodies of the Jena region, as many as I could observe, are produced smaller than those of other regions, although they scarcely ever lose their proportion and the charm of their colors. Whether this happens due to the altitude of the soil or its internal quality, I do not know. I have added no specific explanation to the plates themselves, since the depictions of the entire fungus, or the dissected one, are clear by themselves, [along with] the view...

...most accurately in the illustration. If one excludes a few hastily worked pieces, one must grant the highest praise to the artists who worked on the Schäffer work, as they are the first who have most skillfully depicted fungi in their natural shape; and, although the descriptions are written very briefly, the author, long famous for his extraordinary diligence, certainly deserves our greatest thanks, as he has handed down to us three hundred illuminated plates of these still very little regarded beautiful fungi, mostly at his own expense. Perhaps I have already spoken too much of others, since I should have first awaited judgment on my own work. I hope that art experts will notice that I have not worked out most of the illustrations superficially; and I ask that they attribute the errors that have crept into the others to a lack of time, my colors, and my not sufficiently practiced hand. I have found many things worthy of blame, which perhaps might often be found in this book itself, but I believe that one should not proceed too strictly with the one who proposes a better path but, because his powers hinder him, is only able to follow the flawed one. Very often, the illustration of fungi must be carried out in an extremely short time, partly because of other business, partly because the fungi themselves, as they dry too quickly, do not allow us the time otherwise necessary for the illustration. However, no disadvantage arises from this, as a practiced hand, even if the thing to be illustrated is already spoiled or not available, can bring the illustration to perfection without harming the truth, if this is undertaken in good time, as long as the image is still fresh in the memory. I must also recall that it was not possible for me...