The Mycological Collection

Mycological Models

The collection is composed of three distinct collections: the first has 59 pieces, the second 58 and the third 13. There are then three mushrooms unlabelled that are reconnected to one of the first two groups, for a total of 133 patterns.

The first two collections, distinguished by the type of labels while reproducing species like mushrooms, were made by Giuseppe Stefanini, external preparator of the Museum of Natural Science (Caffi, 1940), as indicated by paper that it was applied to the base of the models.

The third collection instead, differs for different numbering and for that fact some fungi have a square base of wood below which is shown the company G. B. Paravia & C.

(The Paravia is a publishing house. In 1873 for diversify production, it began to provide schools with teaching materials such as globes, abacuses and blackboards, and it may be that our models are covered in this production. Or, are back to 1920 when the firm was turned into “Società Anonima GB Paravia & C.”, initials on the label).

The news about the history of the collection are scarce. In the documents of the Museum of Natural Science it is referred to a purchase in 1875 of a collection of edible mushrooms models; 12 in the dossier of an inventory of 1887 are existing in the headquarters of the then Royal Technical Institute.

(In 1873 the Royal Technical Institute who was based in Lower Bergamo, in Via Tasso 1, was transferred to the New Palace in Piazza Vecchia of Upper Bergamo. The R. Technical Institute gathered in the Cabinet of Natural History an educational collection, which in 1862, it gave rise to the Civic Museum of Bergamo. From 1957 to 1960 the museum was transferred from the place of the Old Town Square to the current one in Piazza Cittadella).

Other information relevant to dating is the death of Stefanini in 1887 in the Upper Town, it was mentioned again. The collection was exhibited in the Museum for decades, until the early 70s of the twentieth century.

Material

Almost all fungi are the fruiting body of cardboard, made from chopped wood fiber, mixed with glue, animal almost certainly view the dating of the collection, and coated with a primer, probably chalk and glue, and finally painted. The volva, when there, is leather. Some, however, in particular those of Clavaria, have a structure in the edge of a wax-covered iron.

The bases of the first two collections are papier-mâché, with the exception of some types of fungus that, in order to reconstruct the habitat, are placed on pieces of wood.

Those of the third collection are, as already mentioned, of wood. The labels are from attached paper, the first two collections of wires and the third is applied to the base.

In the first two collections, on stands, there are leaves of paper and wire and paper grass.

Almost all models of the second and third collection were each in a sealed plastic bag with staples.