FAUL LEVERKUHN, M. D. 199 



ORNITHOLOGISTS, PAST AND PRESENT. 



BY PAUL LEVERKUHN, M. D., EUXINOGRAD CASTLE, BULGARIA. 



Corresponding Member American Ornithologists' Union. 



In the following lines I shall endeavor to give some notes 

 on ray collection of ornithologists' portraits, which is said to 

 be the richest one in the world. The reader will perhaps 

 cry out, that it is a curious idea to make a collection of 

 photographs of naturalists, instead of their books, or better, 

 of the natural objects themselves. But to my mind it is very 

 interesting to know the physiognomies of scientific men, who 

 smoothed our paths, who stepped further on the difficult 

 way of exploration, and who succeeded in obtaining the 

 most remarkable results. So I began to form an ornitholo- 

 gists' album, besides collections of specimens of natural 

 history ; and I am happy to state that my collection now 

 surpasses all others. 



As the arts of photographing, daguerreotyping, wood-cut- 

 ting, and lithographing were not known in the time of 

 Aristotle and Pliny, it is not astonishing that portraits of 

 birds alone exist for that period ; and, I regret to add, they 

 are of very dubious origin. But we are accustomed to date 

 our science from these ancient times ; therefore, it is abso- 

 lutely necessary to begin with them. Then a long while 

 rolls by without record. In the middle ages we find the 

 celebrated Konrad von Gesner of Ziirich, Ulysses Aldrovan- 

 dus, Albertus Magnus, and Glaus Wormius — the latter being 

 the first ornithologist at a prince's court. The portrait of 



