C.G.C. Reinwardt

Description

Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt was a Dutch botanist of Prussian descent. At the age of 14, he came to Amsterdam in 1787, where he studied botany and chemistry at the Athenaeum Illustre. In 1800, Reinwardt was appointed professor of chemistry, natural history and botany at the University of Harderwijk. Meanwhile, in 1806, Louis Napoleon became king of the Dutch territory. He appointed Reinwardt as director of his botanical and zoological gardens and museum in 1808, first in Soest, then in Haarlem - in Paviljoen Welgelegen, which would also later serve as the forerunner of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and Wereldmuseum Amsterdam - and then in Amsterdam. After the Netherlands became part of the French empire in 1810, Reinwardt was appointed professor of various disciplines at the Athenaeum Illustre. In a relatively short period of time, Reinwardt had thus managed to work his way up to become an important figure in the Dutch academic and administrative world. So it is also not surprising that King Willem I, after the Dutch kingdom was restored in 1813, appointed Reinwardt as director of agricultural affairs, sciences and arts in the commission that had to reorganise the Indian archipelago, after the interregnum of the British, administratively.

In this role, Reinwardt opened ‘s Lands Plantentuin in Buitenzorg (Bogor) on 18 May 1817, of which he also became the first director. During his stay in Indonesia, Reinwardt undertook several expeditions to add to the collection of ‘his’ botanical garden, but as was usual at the time, he did not stop at collecting only fauna specimens. Other natural history and ethnographic material was also taken to Bogor by Reinwardt and exhibited in a small natural history museum in the botanical garden. He also sent many natural history objects to European Netherlands, where they came to benefit the king's collection, ‘s Lands Kabinet van Natuurlijke Historie, which would later form the basis for the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (now Naturalis Biodiversity Center). On his travels, Reinwardt was assisted by personal ‘collectors’, the most important being Jacob D'Arnaud van Boeckholtz and August Fransz Treffz.

In 1820, Reinwardt was appointed by King William I as professor of botany, natural history and chemistry at the University of Leiden, as well as the directorate of the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden. However, Reinwardt was still granted permission to stay in Indonesia until 1822. He filled this extra time with a trip to Timor, the Moluccas and Celebes. Posthumously, on the basis of notes left by Reinwardt, the book Reis naar het oostelijk deel van den Indischen archipel in het jaar 1821 was published about this trip. In his position as director of the Hortus Botanicus, Reinwardt wrote a new catalogue, much needed after the many additions to the garden's collection. Meanwhile, other natural history scholars in the Netherlands had not been idle, so for example Reinwardt's aspired position of director of the Rijksmuseum of Natural History had already been given to Coenraad Jacob Temminck.

In 1854, Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt died. Although he was not able to fulfil all his scientific ambitions, such as turning his many notes into various scientific publications, he did leave his mark on (natural history) museum collections in the Netherlands.

Provenance research

Many archival materials and works published by Reinwardt are available online. Reinwardt's personal archive is managed by Leiden University; the library has an extensive collection guide with information about the archive. Reinwardt's correspondence between 1802 and 1854 has been published by the Huygens Institute and is available online. Because of the relatively large role Reinwardt played in the development of the museum world in the Netherlands in the nineteenth century, you are likely to come across documents related to him in the archives of several Dutch museums. Andreas Weber's biography Hybrid ambitions : science, governance, and empire in the career of Caspar G.C. Reinwardt (1773-1854) gives a comprehensive overview of Reinwardt's life and can serve as a reference to relevant archival material. See below for more relevant primary and secondary sources.

Resources

• DBNL - Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt
  Overview of relevant literature relating to Reinwardt within the DBNL platform. — https://www.dbnl.org/auteurs/auteur.php?id=rein010
• Hoogleraren Universiteit Leiden - Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt
  Database of Leiden University with biographical data of (former) professors. — https://hoogleraren.universiteitleiden.nl/s/hoogleraren/item/1738
• Reinwardt, Caspar Georg Carl. Redevoering van C.G.C. Reinwardt: over hetgeen het onderzoek van Indië tot uitbreiding der natuurlijke historie heeft toegebragt. Gehouden den 3 mei 1823, bij het plegtig aanvaarden van het gewoon hoogleeraarsambt in de scheikunde, kruidkunde en natuurlijke historie aan de Hoogschool te Leyden. Nederland: J. van der Hey, 1823.
  Oration by Reinwardt at his inauguration as professor of chemistry, botany and natural history and also director of the Hortus Botanicus at Leiden University. — https://www.google.nl/books/edition/Redevoering_van_C_G_C_Reinwardt/d-hBAAAAYAAJ?hl=nl&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivxcKS1rOKAxWr8bsIHSaIL9cQiqUDegQIDRAC
• Reinwardt, C. G. C., and Teunis Willem van Heiningen. The Correspondence of Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt (1773-1854). Voorburg: U2pi, 2011.
  The correspondence of Reinwardt combined by T.W. van Heiningen, contains letters with various relevant figures. — https://dwc.knaw.nl/wp-content/bestanden/reinwardt.pdf
• Reinwardt, Caspar Georg Carl. Waarnemingen aangaande de gesteldheid van de grond van het eiland Aruba, en het goud aldaar gevonden. Nederland: n.p., 1827.
  Reinwardt's 1851 book on the presence of gold in Aruba's soil. — https://www.google.nl/books/edition/Waarnemingen_aangaande_de_gesteldheid_va/rsdG6_mZAeEC?hl=nl&gbpv=0
• Haan, W. de, P. W. Korthals, Salomon Müller, H. Schlegel, C.J. Temminck, and Natuurkundige Commissie in Oost-Indië (Netherlands). Verhandelingen over de natuurlijke geschiedenis der Nederlandsche overzeesche bezittingen. Leiden: In commissie bij. S. en J. Luchtmans en C.C. van der Hoek, 1839.
  Proceedings of the Natuurkundige Commissie in Indonesia. It was originally published in parts between 1839 and 1847. Covers three volumes: 1: Land and Ethnology, 2: Zoology and 3: Zoology (continued) and Botany. —
• Biografisch Portaal Nederland - Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt
  Biographical portal containing biographical data of all kinds of ‘important’ Dutch people. Includes, among other things, references to other biographies. — http://www.biografischportaal.nl/persoon/40457008
• Inventaris van het archief van prof. C.G.C. Reinwardt, 1808-1828 (NL-HaNA, Reinwardt, 2.21.204)
  Archive of Reinwardt at the National Archives in The Hague. Contains all kinds of documents. — https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/2.21.204/download/pdf
• Weber, A. Hybrid Ambitions: Science, Governance, and Empire in the Career of Caspar G.C. Reinwardt (1773-1854). Leiden University Press (LUP), 2012.
  Dissertation by Andreas Weber from 2012 in the form of a biography of Reinwardt, gives a comprehensive overview of Reinwardt's life and work and places it in chronological context. Contains many references to relevant (archival) material. — https://hdl.handle.net/1887/18924
• Reinwardt, C.G.C. Reis naar het oostelijk gedeelte van den Indischen Archipel, in het jaar 1821. Frederik Muller, 1858.
  Book prepared by Reinwardt's successor at Leiden University, W.H. de Vriese, based on notes by Reinwardt. Describes Reinwardt's journey between 1820 and 1822 to Timor, the Moluccas and Celebes. — https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKIT03:000187285:pdf
• Caspar George Carl Reinwardt archive and collection
  Collectiegids van de Universiteit Leiden over het Reinwardt-archief aldaar. Staan ook handige verwijzingen in naar ander relevant archiefmateriaal. — https://collectionguides.universiteitleiden.nl/resources/ubl208
• Weber, Andreas. “Bitter Fruits of Accumulation: The Case of Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt (1773-1854).” History of Science 52 (3): 297-318. 2014.
  Article by Andreas Weber, on the life and work of Reinwardt. —