Ein bisher unbekanntes historisches Herbarium des Johann Ludwig Buxtorf (1736–1804) aus Basel, Schweiz

Abstract

An unknown historic herbarium of Johann Ludwig Buxtorf (1736–1804) from Basel, Switzerland. The rediscovery of an unknown, historic herbarium in 10 fascicles in the Herbarium of the University of Basel (BAS), Switzerland, prompted an investigation to ascribe its contents and assess its significance. An early 20^th century effort was unsuccessful, dismissing the collection as "of little scientific value, because collection localities are frequently missing". The herbarium contains 1217 folio-sized, folded sheets, unbound, each with unmounted plants and one or multiple labels, plus ca. 472 loose labels from discarded specimens. Identification of the scientific interaction network of the assembler via provenances of plants indicated on labels,confirmed with handwriting and water mark comparisons, allowed me to identify the assembler as Johann Ludwig Buxtorf (1736–1804), Basel’s chief physician from 1768 to 1804. Labels from surviving herbarium specimens indicate four major components: (1) personal collections, including specimens from Swiss, French, and Dutch botanical gardens, and gifts from "friends", mostly Swiss fellow students from his time in Leiden (Netherlands) around 1759–1760 (ca. 525 labels); (2) older specimens from his family, which include his father, the physician Johann Buxtorf (1702–1768), his maternal grandfather Johann Rudolf Zwinger (1692–1777) and great-grandfather Theodor Zwinger (1658–1724), both Professors of Anatomy and Botany with broad networks themselves (ca. 389 labels); (3) specimens of the important naturalist Swiss Abraham Gagnebin (La Ferrière, 1707–1800; ca. 245 labels); (4) mounted specimens of astounding craftmanship and beauty of an unknown maker (ca. 465 labels); plus 48 illustrations, 460 labels in Buxtorf's handwriting without provenance, and ca. 174 labels of unknown origin. Thus, the Buxtorf herbarium has diverse origins spanning four generations of botanists, jointly revealing a complex 18th-century scientific interaction network, making it an invaluable resource for natural scientific and historical research. This paper is largely the German translation of Jurriaan M. de Vos (2024) Ascribing an unknown historic herbarium to Johann Ludwig Buxtorf (1736–1804). Bull Soc Neuchâteloise Sci Nat 144: 253–274, with minor additions.