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+++“I send countless letters to all parts of the world” - What Alexander von Humboldt noted in America and reported from America+++
“I send you countless letters to all parts of the world […] Have all the earthly powers conspired so that none of these letters will reassure you about my existence?” With these words Alexander von Humboldt began his letter to Christiane von Haeften on October 18, 1800 , which is owned by the Berlin City Museum. He wrote it in the South American port city of Cumaná, where he first set foot on the American mainland.
Image gallery
Geographie der Pflanzen in den Tropen-Ländern, Schaubild von Alexander von Humboldt und Aimé Bonpland, 1807
The letter is intended to raise the question of what Humboldt actually wrote in his letters from America and what he wrote down in his diary, which is now available in full as a book for the first time. This much can be revealed: the deviations provide deep insights into his thoughts and goals.
This is followed by a visit to the Humboldt Cabinet in the Knoblauchhaus Museum with a presentation of the original letter, a highlight of the Humboldt collection at the Berlin City Museum.
Dr. Carmen Götz is a research assistant at the academy project Alexander von Humboldt on Travels - Science from Movement at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and editor of the book Alexander von Humboldt. From Spain to Cumana (1799/1800). Diaries of the American Journey, Volume 1, Berlin 2022.
The evening will end with piano music (piano, compositions from around 1800).
Lecture by Dr. Carmen Götz with a tour of the exhibition and piano concert.
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