Evelyn Thor, Stein Johansen and Liv S. Nilsen Gunneria 78 - 2005 The collection of botanical letters to Mikael H. Foslie in the Gunnerus Library: a catalogue in the Gunnerus Library: Mikael H. Foslie to letters of botanical Gunneria 78 - 2005 The collection The collection of botanical letters to Mikael H. Foslie in the Gunnerus Library: a catalogue Gunneria 78 ISBN 978-82-7126-718-6 ISSN 0332-8554 Trondheim 2005 NTNU Science and Technology Science Norwegian University of University Norwegian Museum of Natural History and Archaeology History Museum of Natural Innovation and Creativity Innovation and Creativity Gunneria is a periodical published by the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, Norwegian University of Sceince and Technology, NO 7491-Trondheim. Gunneria presents original papers within the area of work and responsibility covered by the Museum, i.e. botany, zoology, archaeology and cultural history. Gunneria is published irregularly. Editors Eli Fremstad, [email protected] Sigurd M. Såstad, [email protected] Instructions to authors www.ntnu.no/vmuseet/Publikasj/GunneEng.htm Previous issues www.ntnu.no/vmuseet/Publikasj/GunneEng.htm Norwegian University of Science and Technology Museum of Natural History and Archaeology Gunneria 78 The collection of botanical letters to Mikael H. Foslie in the Gunnerus Library: a catalogue Evelyn Thor, Stein Johansen and Liv S. Nilsen Trondheim 2005 Abstract Thor, E., Johansen S. and Nilsen, L.S. 2005. The collection of botanical letters to Mikael H. Foslie in the Gunnerus Library: a catalogue. - Gunneria 78: 1-268. The catalogue includes records of letters in the Gunnerus Library received by the renowned expert on coralline algae, Mikael H. Foslie, during 1884-1909. Nearly 2000 letters have been analysed and the information categorized in order to make the con- tent of the letters more readily available for studies in taxonomy and the history of science. A Web version of the catalogue will be available in 2006. Gunnerus Library, NTNU, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway Table of contents Preface........................................................................................................................7 Introduction..................................................................................................................8 The structure of the catalogue...................................................................................10 References................................................................................................................11 Catalogue of botanical letters....................................................................................12 Index to authors of letters........................................................................................262 6 7 Preface This catalogue results from a project started in October 1995 when Evelyn Thor ana- lysed and recorded the first letters in the Foslie Collection in the Gunnerus Library. The letters were originally recorded in a Polydoc database programmed by Kjell Arntzen, but this was subsequently converted to Word format. The project was initi- ated and has been co-ordinated by Stein Johansen. Liv S. Nilsen has participated in the quality control and final production of the catalogue in 2005. The authors are grateful to Anne Grønli, the late Vegard Elvestrand and Marc Daverdin for their tran- scriptions of handwritten letters in French, Italian and German. Professor Kjell I. Flat- berg has transcripted Latin bryophyte names. Professor Michael Hård (formerly NTNU) and Professor William Woelkerling (La Trobe University) have given valuable comments regarding the history of science and taxonomy, respectively. Trond Åsan and Knut Petersen prepared the author index. The English language has been cor- rected by Richard Binns. The NTNU Library financed the project, and a grant was received in 2004 from “Forum for Kunnskapshistorie” at NTNU. In 2006, the cata- logue will be made available as a Web database. The authors hope this catalogue will be of interest for studies in both taxonomy and the history of science. 8 trained as a telegraphist and in 1874 Introduction he was employed in that profession in Lofoten, on the coast of northern Nor- Mikael Heggelund Foslie was one of the way. His interest in algae was awak- most important international researchers ened during these years in Lofoten. In on the systematics of non-geniculate 1879, Foslie visited Fredrik Christian coralline red algae at the turn of the 19th Schübeler, a Professor of Botany at century (Woelkerling & Lamy 1998). The the Oslo University, and this was an coralline algae collection at the Museum important meeting for his future re- of Natural History and Archaeology in search. From 1880 to 1885, he lived in Trondheim (TRH, Woelkerling et al. 2005) Oslo and worked as a telegraphist, the contains nearly 4000 specimens, 428 of job being acquired with the help of which are type specimens, and is one of Schübeler who recognised Foslie’s abili- the largest and most important collections ty as an algologist and supported his of such algae in the world (Woelkerling career in many ways. During his stay in 1993). After Foslie’s death, his collection Oslo, Foslie studied the university algal of specimens was purchased by the Mu- herbarium. His scientific activities in seum of the Royal Norwegian Society for this early period mostly concerned sea- Sciences and Letters, while the Library re- weeds in Finnmark, which were almost ceived the letter collection and other pri- unknown at that time. A grant from the vate archives. During his career as an al- Oslo University in 1880 gave him the gologist, Foslie carried out extensive cor- opportunity to study the marine algae respondence on an international basis. in Finnmark, leading to the discovery of The NTNU Library, which includes the Gun- some new species and his first paper nerus Library serving the Museum of Na- “Om nogle nye arktiske havalger”, pub- tural History and Archaeology, holds about lished in Christiania Videnskabssel- 2000 letters received by Foslie from 1884 skabs Forhandlinger in 1881. Through to 1909. During the 1990s, the idea was this paper, he established contact with put forward to prepare a printed catalogue algologists like Jacob Georg Agardh, and a database containing information Veit Brecher Wittrock, Frans Reinhold about this extensive collection of letters. Kjellman and Johan Nordal Fischer The main purpose was to make the infor- Wille. In the spring of 1886, he took up mation in the collection of letters received a position as an assistant curator at by Foslie more readily available for re- Tromsø Museum. The Norwegian Gov- search on the taxonomy of coralline algae. ernment officially appointed Foslie to In addition, such a catalogue could also this position and his application was serve as a source for studies on the his- strongly recommended by Wittrock, tory of science, documenting the devel- Schübeler and Axel Blytt. During his opment of knowledge in this field and illus- years in Tromsø, Foslie continued his trating the context of an international re- research on seaweeds and between search career at the turn of the 19th cen- 1880 and 1890 he became a wellknown tury. It would also be a valuable source of expert on algae. biographical details about Foslie and other From 1892 until his death in 1909, contemporary scientists. Foslie worked in Trondheim as a cura- Mikael Heggelund Foslie was born on tor at the Museum of the Royal Norwe- 21st October 1855 in Borge, Lofoten, gian Society for Sciences and Letters. Norway, and died on 9th November 1909 His application for this position was in Trondheim. At the time of his death, he actively supported by Wille. Letters had long been a scientist of international from Wille show that he also per- repute. In his early working career, Foslie suaded Foslie to begin studying the 9 coralline red algae. In addition to being an Deep-sea Expedition to the South At- internationally renowned algal expert, Fos- lantic with the Valdivia in 1898-1899, lie curated both the botanical and the zoo- various English, French, German and logical collections at the Museum. His prac- Swedish Antarctic Expeditions in 1901- tical skills were important in many in- 1905, and the Percy Sladen Trust Ex- stances, such as when the museum build- pedition to the Indian Ocean in 1905. ings were being extended and when Trond- His extensive correspondence with pro- heim Biological Station was being started. fessional and amateur scientists, and Before the turn of the century, Foslie other people, in Europe, Australia, Asia travelled widely, mostly abroad, to study and North America reflects the process algae in Sweden (1880, 1884, 1893, 1895, by which Foslie actively established an 1905), Denmark (1880), Finnmark, north- international network through which ern Norway (1880, 1881), England and coralline algae specimens from all over France (1885-1886), the Netherlands (1892), the world were received, either in ex- England and Scotland (1892), England change or as gifts. On several occa- and Ireland (1899), and Amsterdam and sions, his taxonomical identifications of Göttingen (1900 and 1901). He became a coralline algae collected on expeditions member of several learned societies, such led to joint authorship of publications or as Société nationale des sciences natu- became a crucial part of the works of relles et mathématiques de Cherbourg in other researchers. Foslie himself col- 1889, 1) Videnskabs-Selskabet i Kristiania lected algae