Acknowledgements
When starting this project, I could not have fathomed the many brilliant people I would meet, the unique historical materials I would marvel at, or the fascinating exchanges it would spark. I am grateful for all of it. I want to thank some of the people to whom I am particularly indebted here.
This book arises from my doctoral research, carried out at Leiden University as part of the project âA New History of Fishes. A Long-Term Approach to Fishes in Science and Culture 1550â1880â, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). First and foremost, my gratitude goes out to my supervisors, Paul J. Smith, Eric Jorink and Nadine Akkerman for their invaluable support and advice over the years, as well as for their sharp attention to argument and delightful detail. It has made me a better historian.
The Leiden University Centre for the Arts in the Society (LUCAS) has provided a stimulating, cross-disciplinary setting for this research, offering everything that a doctoral student might need. I thank my fellow project members, Florike Egmond, Marlise Rijks, Sophia Hendrikx and Robbert Striekwold for many inspiring conversations. Thanks also to my other colleagues in Leiden, most of all Lieke Smits, Bareez Majid, Anna Volkmar and Lisanne Wepler. In addition, I want to express thanks to my colleagues at the editorial offices of Isis at Utrecht University where I worked during part of this project; especially to Floris Cohen, Desiree Capel and Ad Maas, for creating a lively group that I am still glad to be a part of.
Several institutions have made this research possible. I am grateful to the British Society for the History of Science for funding archival research in the Nottingham University Library, to the Royal Society for facilitating research in various libraries and archives in London through the Lisa Jardine Research Award, and to the Francke Foundations for enabling perusal of their archives through the Dr. Liselotte Kirchner Fellowship. My heartfelt thanks to the staff of all the libraries, archives and museums that I have consulted in the past years, without whom this research would not at all have been possible. In particular, I want to thank Virginia Mills for introducing me to the Royal Society archives, Isabelle Charmantier for welcoming me at the Linnean Society, James Maclaine for accommodating my research in the Natural History Museum, and Edda AÃel for receiving me at the Museum für Naturkunde.
Audiences at conferences in Keulen, Halle, Augsburg, Berlin, Oxford, Paris, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Woudschoten and Rolduc have helped me to sharpen my ideas. I have had the privilege, furthermore, to attend not one but two summer schools at the University of Göttingen, organised by Dominik Hünniger, Marie Luisa Allemeyer and Christian Vogel at the congenial setting of the Lichtenberg-Kolleg. The insightful feedback of my commentators, Emma Spary and Joachim Rees, as well as the general discussions among the participants have been instrumental in shaping my views on material culture and the history of collecting.
For engaging conversations on early modern science and natural history, I am grateful to Katherine Reinhart, Felicity Henderson, Sietske Fransen, Sachiko Kusukawa, Philippa Hellawell, Meike Knittel, Simon Rebohm, Karsten Hommel, Stéphane Schmitt, Hans Aili, Anita Guerrini, Jan Overwijk, Azadeh Achbari, Ruben Verwaal, Jessie Wei-Hsuan Chen, Eulà lia Gassó Miracle, Esther van Gelder, Holger Zaunstöck, and Markus Berger. Martien van Oijen kindly answered any fish-related questions I had. Marc Argeloo and Johannes Müller generously shared their knowledge on the critical nexus of history, ecology and the environment. Mathijs Boom, Marieke Hendriksen and Wijnand Mijnhardt offered incisive comments on versions of chapters. I am especially indebted to Robbert Striekwold, whose name deserves mentioning twice in these acknowledgements for reading several drafts of what would become this manuscript with an ever critical yet constructive eye. Many thanks are due to Hilke Hoogenboom for diligent translations from Latin, and to Pete Langman for meticulous editing.
I am grateful to the series editors of Emergence of Natural History who helped me to envision this research as a book, first Kay Etheridge and later Andreas Weber, and who offered useful advice at crucial stages. My thanks also to the two anonymous reviewers, whose thoughtful comments have significantly strengthened this work. At Brill, Alessandra Giliberto, Melissa Allieri and Gera van Bedaf guided me expertly through the publication process.
Friends and family made sure I stayed afloat. For this, I thank Lisanne, Sophie, Frédérique, Sarah, and Nina. I am grateful to my parents, Ko and Anja, for unconditional support. And, finally, for his encouragement and love, and for never failing to make me laugh even at moments when such a thing did not seem likely, I thank Sven.