"Anciennes folies neptuniennes!" Über das wiedergefundene "Journal du Mexique à Veracruz" aus den mexikanischen Reisetagebüchern A. v. Humboldts

Abstract

Article in German, Abstracts in English and German.When Humboldt in 1853 reread his 1804 notebook of his travel from Mexico City to Veracruz, he criticized his “old Neptunistic follies” in a marginal note. Scholars have doubted that he was still a Neptunist in 1804, but this text and Humboldt’s later remark prove it.Curiously, these few pages were omitted from his South American notebooks when they were rebound in 9 volumes at the end of his life. Together with the Berlin State Library autograph collection, these missing pages were relocated during World War II, and for decades they were considered lost. Actually, they are well preserved in the Krakau University Library, where I found them recently. They form a valuable addition to Margot Faak’s edition of Humboldt’s Latin American diaries.This paper discusses the manuscript, showing the development of Humboldt’s opinions in some disciplines he was concerned with. Some of these developments represent paradigmatic changes in natural history, especially in geology.

Keywords

• Alexander von Humboldt
• Ulrike Leitner
• 1853
• 1804
• Latin American Diaries
• Margot Faak
• Geology