Schulze-Hagen, K; Steinheimer, F; Kinzelbach, R; Gasser, C
Research on textual and pictorial sources from the period
1200-1700, especially in Central Europe, has revealed the existence of considerably more and
earlier examples of bird collections than previously suspected, as well as of a variety of
motivations and manual skills required for the preserving of birds prior to 1600. Many 16 th
century natural history cabinets contained large numbers of mounted birds, often of exotic
species. This has been documented in some inventories, e. g., that of the cabinet of arts of
Emperor Rudolf 11 of Habsburg. However, it has so far gone unnoticed that numerous illustrations
in the ornithological works of Gessner (1555), Belon (1555), Cyganski (1585), Aldrovandi
(15991603) and in the Thesaurus Picturarum of Marcus zum Lamm (from 1577-1606; Kinzelbach &
Holzinger 2000) were made using preserved birds as models. In Gessner (1555) in particular, the
great majority of the bird illustrations are of mounted or mummified specimens. Sources from
fields that have been neglected in the past, such as bird-trapping, hunting, and folklore, have
supplied further examples. Avian taxidermy is referred to as early as in the treatise on falconry
of Emperor Friedrich 11 of Hohenstaufen, written before 1248 (see also Tab. 1). Decoys used in
bird-trapping were commonly stuffed specimens, and as such are mentioned around 1300 and 1450.
The oldest scientific instructions on taxidermy were set down by Belon (1555). Olina (1622) and
Aitinger (1626/31) provide the first detailed guides to taxidermic procedures. At first the
mummification method dominated, in which the viscera were removed and the remainder of the body
then dried in an oven and/or salted. However, we know that since Olina (1622) and Aitinger
(1626/31) at the latest, the feathered skin was pulled over an artificial body following the
removal of the flesh. The durability of such specimens was poor. This was only gradually improved
by specimens being kept in well-sealed cases and by the use of arsenic, which had actually been
employed in Germany at least 70 years before its 'official introduction' by Becoeur (Hohberg
1682). The first scientifically motivated ornithologists of the 16th century were in possession
of sound taxidermic knowledge, which they had gained through contact with activities like bird-
trapping, hunting, and the preparation of animal skins for clothing. There can be no doubt that
the application of avian taxidermy was a crucial precondition for the early flowering of
ornithology in the 16 th century.