Fly Agarics then and now

One of the greatest works on mushrooms is the Atlas des champignons comestibles et vénéneux by Dufour in the 19th Century. The illustrations are brilliant:

Amanita muscaria - The Hall of Einar

What’s the use of illustrations in the age of photography though? Surely they are old hat?

I don’t think so. Just look at this arrangement of specimens from Yarner Wood on Dartmoor.

Amanita muscaria - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

It doesn’t have the same class, does it?

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