Forgotten Overseas Mail
In an old sea chest dating from the early 20th century, around eighteen thousand butterflies have been awaiting their rediscovery. They were collected in the Colombian mountains by naturalist Arnold Schultze between 1934 and1939. When he and his wife Hertha went on board the River Inn at the Brazilian port Pará in 1939, political tensions in Europe had reached breaking point. The ship left the port in late August, carrying hardwood, rubber and animal hides as well as the Schultzes and their precious luggage – a treasure trove comprising the results of eight years of research and collection in South America, with numerous plant and animal specimens, photos, records and notes. When reaching the Canary Islands two days after the outbreak of the Second World War, the ship was captured by a British warship.
"In the morning of September 5th, British aircraft flew over us. In the afternoon, we were about 300 nautical miles south-west of Tenerife when a British cruiser stopped us. We were allowed only the bare necessities in terms of clothing, as well as our beloved birds. Everything happened within a few minutes. Then the ship was sunk by twelve shells from the cruiser’s guns. All our worldly goods went down with it, including our irreplaceable collections. We are now truly destitute.”
However, a small proportion of the collection had been sent ahead by mail. During the upheaval of the war, a case labelled ‘case 41/dry material’ was registered and stored at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, containing approximately 18,000 butterflies and moths. They were stored in 46 cigar boxes, wrapped up in newspaper cuttings, bills, letters, pages torn from books and other kinds of paper the owners had got hold of on their travels, awaiting their preparation and scientific evaluation.
Sponsorship scheme for the Bicentenary of the Museum
Until 2010, the chest, which was part of the butterfly collection, had hardly been touched at all. For the Museum’s bicentenary, coinciding with the publication of the book "Der Schmetterlingskoffer" (the butterfly chest) by Hanna Zeckau and Hanns Zischler, the 46 cigar boxes were made available for sponsorship at €250.- each. The money thus raised was to ensure that the precious material could be mounted and preserved. We would like to thank all donors who, by taking on sponsorship, contributed to the preservation of this precious, mysterious butterfly collection.
Developments in 2013
Preparation of the butterflies began in 2013. The entire content of the chest was sent to Krakow (Poland) where the butterflies and moths underwent restoration by two preparators at the Zoological Museum of Jagellonian University. The Director of the Zoological Museum, Prof. T. Pyrcz, himself a specialist for butterflies in South America, offered us this opportunity for the insect preparation. He is a major contributor to the evaluation of the material. According to the contract with the preparators, a price of €1.- per butterfly was agreed upon. All in all, 11,000 butterflies could be prepared.
Developments in 2014
In late March 2014, Dr. Wolfram Mey, curator of the butterfly collection, went again to Krakow to collect the first instalment of prepared material. Two cabinets were prepared in the butterfly gallery of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin to house the collection. However, the organisation of the scientific evaluation suffered a setback in 2014 when a funding application submitted to the DFG was refused in spite of positive feedback. The expert committee of the DFG decided that other funding sources should be tapped for the project. The remaining prepared material was collected from Krakow, and an application was submitted to the Volkswagen Foundation to secure funding for the scientific evaluation of the material.
Developments in 2015
In late April 2015, Lepidoptera and Trichoptera (butterflies, caddisflies) curator Dr. Wolfram Mey went again to Krakow to bring back the remaining material from the butterfly chest to the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. All butterflies from the chest have now been prepared and are now part of our collection. The preparators did an excellent job. In a next step, the butterflies were going to be labelled. All specimens were sorted in advance and their data entered into a database. Unfortunately, the member of staff who did this as part of an externally funded initiative, left the Museum in September and was unable to finish her work. An application has been submitted to the VW Foundation to fund the scientific evaluation of the material. The decision is still pending.
Book on the Butterfly Chest
The adventures of naturalist Arnold Schultze and his butterfly chest were the subject of literary research by Hanns Zischler and Hanna Zeckau. They looked at the few documents and items of Schultze’s estate that are still in Berlin, read through his records, diaries and notes at the Historische Arbeitsstelle of the Museum as well as his larger and smaller publications in specialist journals. Inspiration came from Peru, where Gerardo Lamas had compiled a complete bibliography of Schultze’s scientific work. Lamas never tired of emphasizing the eminent importance of Schultze’s work. All this gave rise to a beautifully illustrated book that highlights facettes of his life and last expedition as a botanist, ecologist and collector from the fragments that were left – a wonderful appreciation of his work.
The book "Der Schmetterlingskoffer" was published by Galiani Verlag Berlin in 2010.