Verpacken, verkaufen, verschenken: Hans Sauters entomologische Praktiken zwischen Formosa und Europa, 1902-1914

Abstract

Parcels, Sales and Gifts: Hans Sauter's Entomological Practices between Formosa and Europe, 1902-1914. The exploration of global biodiversity is a form of knowledge production that is necessarily specimen-based. In the endeavor to chart the natural world, not only ideas and writings travelled across the oceans, but also a flood of scientific objects. The German entomologist Hans Sauter (1871-1943) spent most of his life in Formosa, then a Japanese colony. His pronounced aim was to complete an inventory of the entire fauna of Formosa. He aimed for the mass production of knowledge, becoming a collecting-entrepreneur who employed scores of local collectors. Between 1902 and 1914, they amassed large quantities of insects, which required specialized practices in collecting, preserving, documenting, and packaging. Sauter sent these insects, but also hundreds of reptiles, mammals, birds, fish etc., to zoologists all over Europe who identified and published hitherto undescribed species. At first, Sauter sold his finds. Later, he stopped asking for money - pushing instead for speed in publication and making demands about the content and naming of these articles. His demands were met, especially by the Deutsches Entomologisches Museum in Dahlem. Despite almost no publications to his name, Sauter quickly gained considerable influence in the world of entomological research. In this paper, the circulation of these scientific objects serves as a focal point in order to embed local circumstances in the process of knowledge production in a global context. The practices associated with the specimens illustrate the economic, political and social dimensions of the formation of knowledge. Hans Sauter's case defies traditional dichotomies as it illustrates the interdependence of practical and theoretical knowledge, of science and trade and of center and periphery. Practical knowledge gained in a local setting in Formosa allowed Sauter to amass large amounts of insect specimens, a resource he used to steer the course of scientific practice in Europe.

Keywords: Biodiversitätsforschung; Formosa; Geschichte der Entomologie; Geschichte des Sammelns; Hans Sauter; Insekten; Japan; Taiwan; biodiversity research; formosa; history of collecting; history of entomology; insects; practical knowledge; praktisches Wissen.