Peter Ludwig Heinrich von Block

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Peter Ludwig Heinrich von Block (born February 25, 1764 in Dresden ; † 1834 ) was a German entomologist , inspector of the Green Vault in Dresden, Saxon court advisor and collector of graphics, natural and cultural objects.

Life

Block was the son of Major General of the Saxon Infantry Johann Carl von Block (1730–1777), who was temporarily chief steward to the Saxon regent Franz Xaver of Saxony , and a widowed Baroness von Riedel. Originally raised with the aim of a military career, Block aspired to civilian training after his father's death. From 1779 to 1784 lived block in the household of a brother of his mother in Würzburg and studied at the University history, mathematics and law. Under Karl Heinrich Titius (1744-1813), the inspector of the Royal Minerals and Natural History Cabinet in the Dresden Zwinger , Block continued his studies of mineralogy , entomology and botany until he was employed. He then served in the household of Prince Iwan Iwanowitsch Barjatinski (1767-1825), son of Prince Iwan Sergejewitsch Barjatinski (1738-1811) and Princess Katharina von Holstein-Beck (1750-1811) in Leipzig. From 1790 he accompanied Prince Barjatinski on trips through Germany, northern Italy and Switzerland. During these trips, Block began collecting insects and made contact with French nobles and scholars.

In 1793, Block began working in the Secret Cabinets Archive in Dresden. From 1797 he was the paymaster of the court supply fund. In 1799 he became court advisor and in 1802 first inspector of the Green Vault . During this phase of his life, Block became a member of several learned societies, for example a foreign member of the Natural Research Society in Halle in 1793 , a member of the Accademia delle Scienze di Siena in 1794, a corresponding member of the Accademia dei Georgofili in Florence in 1795 and an honorary member of the Leipzig Economic Society in 1804 . In 1814 Block applied in vain to succeed Titius, who had died the previous year, as inspector of the Royal Cabinet of Minerals and Natural Products.

Block was a not insignificant naturalist, his collection of spiders and insects alone comprised more than 15,000 specimens as early as 1809. He was in contact with numerous other naturalists, the first description of the Southeast Asian scorpion Heterometrus longimanus was made in 1800 by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst based on a copy from Block's collection.

Block published a number of essays on various subjects without attribution. His most important contribution to entomology was a chapter on the insects of the Plauen reason in the work Der Plauische Grund bei Dresden published by Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker in 1799 . The publication is considered to be one of the first local Saxon faunas and, in addition to a list of the 43 species found by Block himself or by other entomologists in Plauenschen Grund, the first descriptions of 18 other insect species, three of which are still recognized as valid today.

Block was a passionate collector who amassed collectibles of various kinds far beyond his own economic possibilities. This included a precious stone collection that was viewed on September 25, 1810 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , accompanied by Christian Gottfried Körner and his secretary Friedrich Wilhelm Riemer . In a letter dated September 28, Körner wrote to his son Theodor Körner :

“On Monday morning (...) I was with Goethen at the Baron Block's. The gemstone collection seemed to interest Goethe very much. It seems to me to be of great value, and I hardly understand how Block could get there. "

The following entry in his diary has come down to us from Riemer:

“With G. and Körner to Hofrath Block. Have a look at his gemstone collection. Collection of all types of shoes from all zones. "

Block's collections were significant enough in its time to be mentioned in a biography of Dresden writers and artists:

"He currently not only owns a collection of insects, which contains over 15,000 pieces from all classes and countries, but also a botanical collection, a collection of coppers, which refer exclusively to Saxony, and of many curiosities, along with a collection of shoes."

The collection of culturally and historically significant shoes, mostly with pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries, contained the coronation shoes of Emperor Napoleon I and King August III. of Poland, shoes of Pope Pius VII and Emperor Charles V , as well as the dancer Barbara Campanini .

In the Green Vault, Block suppressed a large number of collection items in order to keep them for himself or to finance his own collecting activities. So he exchanged large and valuable gemstones for smaller and inferior ones. On August 16, 1817, Block was sentenced to four years in prison by the Schöppenstuhl in Leipzig , which he served in Waldheim and Zwickau . His property was confiscated. In a received letter from Block, he justified his actions by saying that he did so for the sake of history and science.

Ludwig Heinrich von Block was married to Caroline von Block (née Bege), who died in 1816 at the age of 34. The marriage resulted in a daughter, Dorothea Franziska Friederike Emilie Freiin von Block (1801–1827). In 1819 Emilie met the Norwegian landscape painter Johan Christian Clausen Dahl , who was a member of the Dresden Art Academy from 1820 and a professor from 1824 . Under dramatic circumstances, Dahl had to travel to Italy for a long time, but the previous wedding was subject to the permission of the imprisoned father Block, the couple married on June 12, 1820 in Dresden's Kreuzkirche . The marriage resulted in two daughters and two sons. Emilie died on August 24, 1827, a few days after the birth of their son Johann Siegwald Dahl .

After his release from prison, Block lived in Meißen and was supported by his son-in-law Johan Christian Clausen Dahl with monthly cash benefits. In 1828 Dahl painted a portrait of Block, which is now in private ownership in Oslo. In the same year Block went to a general from P. in Styria as private secretary. According to a letter from Count Franz H. von Battyany in October 1834, he died in 1834.

Parts of his spider and insect collection are in the Natural History Museum Vienna . Block's extensive shoe collection was transferred to the royal collections in 1830. Today it is in the holdings of the Historisches Museum Dresden . Individual pieces from the collection were shown in the exhibition The Passions in the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden in 2012 .

The criminal case block served the German writer Ralf Günther as a template for his historical crime novel Der Dieb von Dresden , published in 2008 .

Initial descriptions

Blocks contribution to the insect fauna of Plauenschen ground contained the descriptions of 18 species of insects from different orders , including nine from him in the genre Staphylinus Asked species of beetles family Staphylinidae . Three of these species were synonyms of previously described species, three more are still valid today. In the case of three names of Block, the fact that his publication was already considered a bibliophile treasure in the early 18th century, was difficult to access and was not evaluated by subsequent entomologists, apparently came into play. As an exception to the priority rule that makes Block the first descriptor, the International Rules for Zoological Nomenclature have allowed a name that has not been used for a long time to be suppressed in favor of one that has recently been used.

publication

literature

  • Werner Fritzsche and Rolf Reinhardt: Peter Ludwig Heinrich Freiherr von Block and his family ties to the Norwegian landscape painter Johan Christian Clausen Dahl . In: Messages from Saxon Entomologists. Supplement series 2016, Volume 35, No. 117, pp. 116–118, ISSN  1866-6965 .
  • Christoph Johann Gottfried Haymann: Dresden writers and artists, some recently deceased, some now living, scientifically classified together with a three-fold register . Walthersche Hofbuchhandlung, Dresden 1809, pp. 118–120, digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3D~GB%3D~IA%3Dbub_gb_LapNAAAAcAAJ~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3Dn140~ double-sided%3Dja~LT%3D~PUR%3D .
  • Lothar Zerche: What is Staphylinus nigrophthalmus Block, 1799? And other surprises or: An advantage of the new nomenclature rules (Col., Staphylinidae) . In: Entomological News and Reports 2000, Volume 44, No. 1, pp. 51–54, PDF (505 kB) on ZOBODAT
  • Jutta Bäumel, June Swann: The shoe collection in the Dresden armory. An overview of the history and the inventory , in: Waffen- und Costumekunde, Volume 38, 1996, pp. 3–33.

Fiction

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Werner Fritzsche and Rolf Reinhardt: Peter Ludwig Heinrich Freiherr von Block , p. 116.
  2. ↑ Christoph Johann Gottfried Haymann: Dresden partly recently deceased, partly now living writers and artists , p. 119.
  3. ↑ Christoph Johann Gottfried Haymann: Dresden partly recently deceased, partly now living writers and artists , p. 120.
  4. ↑ a b Christoph Johann Gottfried Haymann: Dresden's partly recently deceased, partly now living writers and artists , p. 118.
  5. ↑ a b Lothar Zerche: Was ist Staphylinus nigrophthalmus Block, 1799 , p. 52.
  6. ↑ Christian Gottfried Körner, letter to his son Theodor Körner dated September 28, 1810, quoted from Wolfgang Albrecht, Andreas Döhler and Edith Zehm (eds.): Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Diaries. Historical-critical edition. Volume IV, 2. 1809-1812. Commentary . Springer, Stuttgart et al. 2008, p. 1092, ISBN 978-3-476-02195-3 .
  7. ^ Robert Keil: Copies from Riemer's notebooks and diaries. Manuscript (GMD: KK 3773), p. 423, quoted from Wolfgang Albrecht, Andreas Döhler and Edith Zehm (eds.): Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Diaries. Historical-critical edition. Volume IV, 2. 1809-1812. Commentary . Springer, Stuttgart et al. 2008, p. 1092, ISBN 978-3-476-02195-3 .
  8. ↑ a b Katrin Bettina Müller: In the exuberance of feelings . In: Die Tageszeitung (taz), April 2, 2012, accessed on January 15, 2018.
  9. ↑ a b Werner Fritzsche and Rolf Reinhardt: Peter Ludwig Heinrich Freiherr von Block , pp. 117–118.
personal data
SURNAME Block, Peter Ludwig Heinrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Block, Ludwig Heinrich von (frequent shortened spelling); Block, Heinrich von (frequent shortened spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German natural scientist and administrative officer
DATE OF BIRTH February 25, 1764
PLACE OF BIRTH Dresden
DATE OF DEATH 1834