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The History of Science in the Age of Networked Digital Humanities11.00am - 12.30pm, Thursday 2 July 2015

The case of the missing records: The long journey of the Correspondence of Ferdinand Von

Mueller into the world of digital history of science

Gavan McCarthyDirector, eScholarship Research Centre

The University of Melbournegavanjm@unimelb.edu.au

DH2015Global Digital Humanities

University of Western Sydney, Parramatta South Campus, Parramatta, 1- 3 July 2015

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The case of the missing records

The Correspondence of Ferdinand Von Mueller entangled in the Clades of Time

Ferdinand von Mueller was one of Australia's best-known nineteenth-century scientists. He earned a considerable international reputation for his work in describing the Australian flora. Employed by the Victorian Government, he was Government Botanist (1853–1896) as well as Director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens (1857–1873). Mueller's interests lay not just in botany, but also in fields as diverse as geology, exploration and acclimatisation.

In the course of his career he corresponded with scientists in many countries.

For more on the project see:http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/science/herbarium-and-resources/library/mueller-correspondence-project(a summary of the project as in 2008)

The Project and the Missing Records

The aim of the project is to find, edit and publish Mueller's body of correspondence. 

Since the project's inception in 1987, Professor Home has led an international team in the work of locating, translating, transcribing and editing the letters and providing explanatory footnotes. This has been a challenging project because Mueller's letter-copy books and much of his inwards correspondence have not survived. During the course of the project contact has been made with institutions across Australia and world-wide seeking copies of letters and other relevant documents.So far over 15,000 items have been located and transcribed, and new items continue to emerge. It is believed that Mueller may have written well over 100,000 letters.

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Journal articles

Maroske, S. (2007). Educational exsiccatae: Ferdinand von Mueller's botanical lessons in colonial Victoria. Collections 2, 37–47.

Home, R.W. (2006). Ferdinand von Mueller, botanist of honour. Australian Heritage Winter, 66–71.

Lucas, A.M., Maroske, S. and Brown-May, A. (2006). Bringing science to the public: Ferdinand von Mueller and botanical education in Victorian Victoria.Annals of science 63, 25–57.

Maroske, S. (2006). Ferdinand Mueller and the shape of nature: nineteenth-century systems of plant classification. Historical Records of Australian Science17, 147–168.

Darragh, T.A. (2004). Ferdinand Mueller and Charles La Trobe. La Trobeana2(2), 1–5.

Darragh, T.A. (2003). Bishop Goold and Ferdinand von Mueller: a 30 year acquaintance. Footprints: journal of the Melbourne Diocesan Historical Commission 20, 3–9.

Lucas, A.M. (2003). Assistance at a distance: George Bentham, Ferdinand von Mueller and the production of Flora australiensis. Archives of Natural History 30, 255–281.

Maroske, S. (2001). The fate of the Cranbourne meteorites. Victorian Naturalist 118, 305–308.

Gillbank, L. and Maroske, S. (1998). Fourteen plants and a fungus: Ferdinand Mueller's taxonomic imprint on the flora of the Buffalo Range. Victorian Naturalist 115, 188–191.

Home, R.W. (1998). A botanist for a continent: Ferdinand von Mueller (1825–96). Endeavour 22, 72–75.

Home, R.W. (1997). Ferdinand Mueller: migration and the sense of self.Historical Records of Australian Science 11, 311–323.

Home, R.W. and Maroske, S. (1997). Ferdinand von Mueller and the French consuls. Explorations 18, 3–50.

Maroske, S. (1997). The private life of a public figure: Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, 1825–1896. Historical Records of Australian Science 11, 335–343.

Maroske, S. (1997). Memories of Mueller. Botanical Magazine 7, 8–13.

Archer, B. and Maroske, S. (1996). Sarah Theresa Brooks: plant collector for Ferdinand Mueller. Victorian Naturalist 113, 188–194.

Cohn, H.M. (1996). Botanical researches in intertropical Australia: Ferdinand Mueller and the North Australian Exploring Expedition. Victorian Naturalist 113, 163–168.

Cohn, H.M. and Maroske, S. (1996). Relief from duties of minor importance: the removal of Baron von Mueller from the directorship of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Victorian Historical Magazine 67, 103–127.

Darragh, T.A. (1996). Mueller and personal names in zoology and palaeontology. Victorian Naturalist 113, 195–197.

Heathcote, J. and Maroske, S. (1996). Drifting sands and Marram Grass on the south-west coast of Victoria in the last century. Victorian Naturalist 113, 10–15.

May, T. and Maroske, S. (1996). Ferdinand von Mueller, exhibitioner extraordinaire. Victorian Naturalist 113, 143–145.

Voigt, J.H. (1996). Ferdinand von Mueller und Wurttemberg. Beitrage zur Landeskunde 5, 8–13.

Voigt, J.H. and Sinkora, D.M. (1996). Ferdinand (von) Mueller in Schleswig-Holstein, or: the making of a scientist and of a migrant. Historical Records of Australian Science 11, 13–33.

Lucas, A.M. (1995). Letters, shipwrecks and taxonomic confusion: establishing a reputation from Australia. Historical Records of Australian Science 10, 207–221.

Maroske, S. (1995). Ferdinand Mueller anniversary. Muelleria 8, 395–398.

Maroske, S. (1995). Mueller's educational collection of plants. Botanic Magazine 6, 35.May, T., Maroske, S. and Sinkora, D.M. (1995). The mycologist, the Baron, the fungi hunters and the mystery artist. Botanic Magazine 6, 36–39.Maroske, S. and Brown-May, A. (1993). Horticultural embellishments: public conferment from the Melbourne Botanic Garden, 1870. Australian GardenHistory 4(4), 8–14.Home, R.W., Maroske, S., Lucas, A.M. and Lucas. P.J. (1992). Why explore Antarctica?: Australian discussions in the 1880s. Australian Journal of Politics and History 38, 386–413.Maroske, S. (1992). The queen of aquatics: Victoria amazonica. Australian Garden History 3(5), 3–6.Maroske, S. and Cohn, H.M. (1992). 'Such ingenious birds': Ferdinand Mueller and William Swainson in Victoria. Muelleria 7, 529–553.Maroske, S. (1991). Planting the Melbourne General Cemetery: the contribution of Ferdinand von Mueller. Australian Garden History 2(5), 3–7.Maroske, S., Sinkora, D.M. and Cohn, H.M. (1991). Ferdinand von Mueller's library. Botanic Magazine 4, 17–23.Book chaptersHome, R.W. (2008). Mueller, Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von. In New dictionary of scientific biography, vol. 5, pp. 204–209. Thomson Gale, Detroit & London.Home, R.W. (2005). Science. In A. Brown-May and S. Swain (eds). The encyclopedia of Melbourne, pp. 640–645. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Home, R.W. (2000). Emigrants or scientific travellers?: Ferdinand Mueller and Georg Neumayer between Germany and Australia. In E.I. Mitchell (ed.), Baron von Mueller's German Melbourne, pp. 11–19. La Trobe University, Bundoora (Plenty Valley papers, 3).Maroske, S. (2000). Germans at the Melbourne Botanic Garden and Herbarium, 1853–96. In E.I. Mitchell (ed.), Baron von Mueller's German Melbourne, pp. 24–20. La Trobe University, Bundoora (Plenty Valley papers, 3).Gillbank, L. and Maroske, S. (1996). Behind the botany of the Horn Expedition: Ferdinand Mueller's documentation of the larapintine flora. In S.R. Morton and D.J. Mulvaney (eds), Exploring Central Australia: society, the environment and the 1894 Horn Expedition, pp. 209–224. Surrey Beatty, Chipping Norton.Home, R.W. (1994). Science as a German export to nineteenth century Australia. Sir Robert Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, Institute for Commonwealth Studies (Working papers in Australian studies, 104).Maroske, S. (1993). The whole great continent as a present: nineteenth-century Australian women workers in science. In F. Kelly (ed.), On the edge of discovery, pp. 13–34. Text Publishing, Melbourne.Lucas, A.M. (1988). Baron von Mueller: protege turned patron. In R.W. Home(ed.), Australian science in the making, pp. 132–152. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.BooksHome, R.W., Lucas, A.M., Maroske, S., Sinkora, D.M., Voigt, J.H. and Wells, M. (eds) (2006). Regardfully yours: selected correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, vol. 3: 1876–1896. Peter Lang, Bern.Home, R.W., Lucas, A.M., Maroske, S., Sinkora, D.M. and Voigt, J.H. (eds) (2002). Regardfully yours: selected correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, vol. 2: 1860–1875. Peter Lang, Bern.Home, R.W., Lucas, A.M., Maroske, S., Sinkora, D.M. and Voigt, J.H. (eds) (1998). Regardfully yours: selected correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, vol. 1: 1840–1859. Peter Lang, Bern.Voigt, J.H. (1996). Die Erforschung Australiens: der Briefwechsel zwischen August Petermann und Ferdinand von Mueller 1861–1878. Justus Perthes Verlag, Gotha.

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Mac Version History.Word 1.01985Word 3.01987Word 4.01989: Last version that can be run using a daul-floppy Mac.Word 5.0/5.11991 (5.1 – 1992): Requires System 6.0.2, 512 KB of RAM (1 MB for 5.1, 2 MB to use spell check and thesaurus), 6.5 MB available hard drive space. Last version to support 68000-based Macs.Word 6.01993: Requires System 7.0, 4 MB of RAM (8 MB recommended), at least 10 MB available hard drive space, 68020 CPU. 68000-based Macs not supported.

Word 2001 (9.0)2000: Last version for Classic Mac  OS, runs in Classic Environment of Mac OS X. Requires Mac OS 8.0 through 9.2.2, 8.5 or later recommended. Application requires 10 MB of RAM with virtual memory enabled, 17 MB without it.Word v.X (10.0)2001: First version written for OS XWord 2004 (11.0)2004: First Mac version to use XML format.Word 2008 (12.0)2008Word 2011 (14.3)2011

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Cladistics, a nowadays often computerized methodology for taxonomic research, is claimed by its proponents to be more advanced and less subjective than traditional evolutionary systematics. It offers a convenient method of combining factual character state distribution with assumptions on directions of evolutionary change, and of constructing hypothetic evolutionary trees. But its usefulness in taxonomic botany is hampered by difficulties in outgroup selection, frequency of parallelisms and reversals, and wide variation within taxa. Prudently used, cladistics may certainly be a useful tool to botanical taxonomists, but if pursued as an independent computer game it may be harmful to taxonomy and to biology as a whole.

Cladistics in Taxonomic Botany: Master or Servant?Olov HedbergTaxonVol. 44, No. 1 (Feb., 1995), pp. 3-11Published by: International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT)Article DOI: 10.2307/1222672

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We build what we can . . . with the technology at hand . . . in the world in which we find ourselves.

Thank you – gavanjm@unimelb.edu.au