The Naturalist’ Traveling Library at the Beginning of the 18th Century

Abstract

The structure of a personal library indicates the public prestige and social role of a scientist and is a significant touch to the portrait of its owner. The composition of a traveling, or field library is determined by specific practical tasks, that’s why it has a special place among personal libraries. The traveling library of the German naturalist D. G. Messerschmidt (1685—1735), who made the first trip to Siberia for scientific purposes, is considered as a case. The Messerschmidt book collection is a professionally compiled traveling l library, including about 150 books and a dozen manuscripts, maps and engravings. The only piece of information about it is an entry in the manuscript of his travel diary. So, researchers of Messerschmidt’s traveling library face two interrelated tasks: preparation of an archival document for publication, on the one hand, and the reconstruction of the library in the absence of the books themselves, on the other. This reconstruction could expand our understanding of Messerschmidt’s reading circle, as well as the background and context of his activity.