Considerations on the historic context surrounding the publications attributed to Denis & Schiffermüller

Abstract

In the second half of the 18th century, the influential Jesuit college named Theresianum ran an educational and scientific project for working systematically on the Lepidoptera occurring in the vicinity of Vienna, Austria. The teachers of the college prepared a document under the title “Ankündung eines systematischen Werkes von den Schmetterlingen der Wienergegend”, with the aim of informing the ecclesiastical and secular authorities about the goal of the enterprise. On the board of the Theresianum there were several Jesuits, who later were considered authorities concerning Lepidoptera, namely: Michael Denis SJ, Sigismund Hohenwart SJ, Ludwig Mitterpacher SJ, Matthias Piller SJ, and Ignaz Schiffermüller SJ. They were acknowledged by Lepidoptera patronyms in the “Ankündung”, which suggests that they may have been involved in this project. This “Ankündung” was mentioned in the book “Versuch eines Farbensystems” in 1771, which was authored by Ignaz Schiffermüller. Also from this book, it can be postulated that Ignaz Schiffermüller regarded himself as a responsible author or editor of the “Ankündung”. Printing of the “Ankündung” was delayed for unspecified reasons, the dissolution of the Jesuit order in 1773 may have been one of them. Subsequently, Ignaz Schiffermüller managed to circulate a limited number of copies of the “Ankündung” in 1775, and then the same document appeared before a wider audience under the new title “Systematisches Verzeichniss der Schmetterlinge der Wienergegend” in 1776. Both these publications were at the time and ever since attributed to Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller, because some subsequent citations considered these two Jesuits as the principal authors.