Language: German, with bilingual introduction and glossary in English and German and book details in their original languages
This is the bibliographical catalogue of the Christian-Volbracht-Collection. It contains 3000 iconographies, books and papers from six centuries (1481-1959), a catalogue of 2300 entries with bibliographical references and many short commentaries about rarity and special interest, a bibliography with more than 100 entries, and an index of illustrations. Copies are numbered and signed with Coprinus-ink after the recipe by Pierre Bulliard (1792). Printed on natural Munken Pure paper. 90 of the coloured illustrations are full-page mushroom-plates. Bound in cloth with gilt title and vignette and pictorial dust-wrappers.
"The idea of producing such a catalogue was probably inspired by the published catalogues of the personal mycological libraries of Schliemann in Hamburg (Uellner, 1976) and Howard A. Kelly in Michigan (Krieger, 1924), but surpasses both those books in content and the splendor of the presentation. [...] The price for the normal edition is very reasonable considering its size and quality, and this is a reference work all major mycological libraries should have, and all mycobibliophiles will treasure."
– David L. Hawksworth, Mycotaxon Vol. 98
"Amor fungorum et librorum – only from the love of mushrooms and books can arise such a magnificent volume. Since [...] many years [...] I follow with pleasure the development of today's doubtless most important collection of mushroom books in the world. [...] Now available, the book MykoLibri about Christian Volbracht's collection, has the rank of a standard work on mushroom bibliography. It is a comprehensive overview of the history of mycology and a bibliophile treasure. It proves what can be achieved through the love of a topic, profound knowledge, and a collector's passion."
– Joachim Schliemann, Collector, Der Tintling, Heft 4/2006
"The volume MykoLibri presented by Christian Volbracht's offers much more than can be expected from a catalogue: There are, after an extremely entertaining and informative introduction (p. V-X), an overview of the main mycologic publications from 1481 to 1959 (p. 13 -25), the detailed description (including addenda) of 2319 titles in the library Volbracht (p. 29-497), preceded by a user guide with example (p. 27), a list of relevant bibliographies and other reference works (p. 499-509), a register of the illustrations (p. 511-524) and a table of contents. [...] The mycologist will be excited that in nearly 30 years of passionate collecting, nearly everything that concerns the evolution of the science of mycology in five and a half centuries has been gathered – from mycological standard works to "rara" and "rarissima", to works considered as "unfindable" by experts. [...] Coloured illustrations from the books of the collection are spread all over the volume; together with a historical outline, they make MykoLibri a reference book for mycological iconography. [...] The work presents accurate and reliable data for the librarian, historical and botanical information for the mycologist, and the pure pleasure of a masterpiece of book art for the bibliophile."
– Dr Winfried Uellner, Bibliographer of the Schliemann-Collection, Der Tintling, Heft 4/2006
"A stimulating work, offering solid information in the field of the history of science as well as aesthetic pleasure. Once opened, it is difficult so set aside this large volume (21 × 29.5 cm). Looking at the full-page reproductions of plates from little-known iconographies reveals is full of discoveries and surprises. [...] Honestly: who, as a mycologist, had all these works in mind before he began writing about mushrooms? [...] In all, a charming and vivid book inviting to many discovery-voyages, and an extremely valuable contribution to the struggle against forgetting the achievements of our intellectual ancestors."
– Hanns Kreisel, Zeitschrift für Mykologie, Band 73(1)
"It may seem strange to write a book review on a bibliography. Usually, this would seem the case, but in a few outstanding cases [...] the contributions have been so fundamental and provide such invaluable data as to be candidates for wider audiences. Such is the case for MykoLibri [...] This volume is not for the journeyman mycologist, but it should grace the shelf of those mushroom collectors who have become bibliophiles, and especially those institutions which advertise a mycological program as part of their strengths. Leafing through this bibliography is like strolling through a sumptuous compilation of illuminated herbals. It elicits a wonder at the shared past of our discipline and intrepid workers on whose shoulders we stand."
– Ronald H. Petersen, University of Tennessee, Inoculum, Supplement Mycologia Vol. 58(1)
"There has never been such an elaborate or extensive bibliography or catalogue of mycological literature before so this work stands as a uniquely important reference in this field. [...] Natural history libraries will certainly need to acquire this important bibliographical catalogue even if it requires some stretch of their funds."
– Gavin Bridson, Librarian of the Hunt-Institute for botanical documentation, Pittsburgh, Huntia Vol. 13 (2), 2007
"It is important to note that, contrary to what one is tempted to believe on first sight, this book is not only intended for collectors and booksellers but also to any mycological systematist. There are the precise dates of publication of all fascicles of major works, vitally important to determine the priority of a name of a species. [...] This book is indispensable in any mycological library because it offers bibliographic, historical and botanical data, together with the beauty of the work in terms of the quality of paper, the typography and the iconographic representation."
– Maurice Roger, Librarian of Société mycologique de France, BSMF, tome 122(1)
"With MykoLibri, Christian Volbracht has achieved something extraordinary. His bibliography is an indispensable tool for every collector interested in mushroom-books as well as for any antiquarian bookseller dealing with botanical literature."
– Antiquariat Dirk Krah, book-expert, Aus dem Antiquariat, Ausgabe 4/2007