Leopold Trattinnick (26 May 1764 in Klosterneuburg – 24 January 1849 in Vienna) was an Austrian botanist and mycologist. He was a curator of the Royal Natural History collection in Vienna. He published several mycological and other botanical works. Most of these works were illustrated with engravings and many of them were hand coloured (pre-colour printing). He also gave out collections of wax replicas of species of fungi and later sponges.
Biography
Leopold Trattinnick was born on 26 May 1764 near Vienna to a wealthy and influential family.
He originally began to study law but his interests in nature grew and he started studying Science and divided his time amongst the fields of entomology, mineralogy and botany. His main area of Interest was mycology and spermatophytes.
In 1797, he published 'Anleitung zur Cultur der ächten Baumwolle in Österreich' (translated as 'Introduction to the culture of true cotton in Austria'). It was his first botanical publication. This was followed by 'Genera Plantarum Methodo Naturali Disposita', in 1802, which was a proposal for a natural arrangement of some plant genera.
Between 1804 and 1806, he published several works about mushrooms (mycology), including 'Fungi Austriaci'. He also staged an exhibition with wax sculpted mushroom replicas, called the 'Mycological Cabinet'. A second collection (with edible sponges) was made in 1830. The Mycological Cabinet was numbered in Arabic numerals (1-42). The second collection of sponges is numbered with letters (A-FF). In 1809, he published 'The edible sponges of the Empire of Austria'. Several places still have these wax collections including the 'Museo Civico di storia naturale' in Trieste, Italy (only up to no. 18), the portrait collection of the National Library in Vienna, which has wax models from both series, the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, which also has wax models from both series and the 'Department of Botany' in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest.
Between 1805 and 1819, seven volumes of 'Thesaurus Botanicus' were published with botanical Illustrations (which include works from Ignace Strenzel (or Ignaz Stremel) (professor at the Vienna Academy, 1786–1832), Franz Reinelli (a flower specialist at the Royal Vienna porcelain works, 1785–1812) and Johann Buchberger from Vienna. It contained 80 plates.
He did not have an official botanical position until 1806 when he became the “Landschafts-Phytographen von Niederösterreich”,(plant illustrator of the landscape of Lower Austria).
In 1809, the Kaiser of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Emperor Francis I, appointed him “Kustos des K.k. Hof- Naturalienkabinetts” (which translated means 'Custodian of the Royal Natural History Collections'). He held this position until 1835/36. 'Kaiserlichen Hof-Naturalienkabinett' is now the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien in Vienna.
Whilst being a curator, he organised the specimens of various plant genera including Theophrasta, Sophora, Hermannia and Psoralea. These were collected by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin.
Between 1811 and 1818, he published 'Archiv der Gewächskunde' (Archives of the Greenhouse Customer). This two-volume work included 250 engravings of plants. The copper plates included domestic and foreign plants in any order. It was not a popular piece of work as it had many copies of current illustrations.
Between 1811 and 1816, he published "Observationes Botanicae" (in 4 Fascimila). Another piece of work with very low sales.
Between 1812 and 1818, he published 'Arch Gewächsk' (Archiv der Gewächskunde) Wein.
Between 1812 and 1822, he published 'Auswahl vorzüglich schöner, seltener, berühmter, und sonst sehr merkwürdiger Gartenpflanzen, in getreuen Abbildungen nebst Erläuterungen über ihre Charakteristik, Verwandschaft, Klassification, Geschichte, Verwendung, Cultur, und ästhetischen Ansichten' (translation: Selection of Exquisitely Beautiful, Rare, Famous and Otherwise Very Strange Garden Plants, in faithful pictures together with explanations of their characteristics, relationships/ kinship, classification, history, use, culture and aesthetic properties). It included 219 engraved plates, 218 of them hand-coloured. A set sold in 1999 for £9,775
In 1812, all known species in the genus Hosta were grouped together by Trattinnick, and named in honour of his fellow Austrian Nicholas Thomas Host, who was a botanist and physician at the court of Emperor Frances I of Austria. It was first thought that the name was invalid, as a Verbena (now known as Cornutia) had already been named "Hosta", but Linnaeus then re-classified the plant as a 'Verbena'. In 1905, the International Botanical Congress voted that the name 'Hosta' could be used.