Schuh’s Annotated Bio-Bibliography

ZITTEL, Karl Alfred von.

(1839 – 1904)

(Born: Bahlingen, Baden, Germany, 25 September 1839; Died: Münich, Bavaria, Germany, 5 January 1904) German mineralogist, geologist & palaeontologist.

Zittel was educated at Heidelberg, Paris and Vienna. For a short period he served on the Geological Survey of Austria, and was an assistant in the mineralogical museum at Vienna. In 1863 he became teacher of geology and mineralogy in the polytechnic at Carlsruhe, and three years later he became professor of paleontology in the University of Munich, with the charge of the state collection of fossils. In 1880 he was appointed to the geological professorship, and eventually to the directorship of the natural history museum of Munich. He was one of the greatest of the German geologist/paleontologists of the age. From 1899 Zittel was president of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences, and in 1894 he was awarded the Wollaston medal by the Geological Society of London.

Biographical references: American Journal of Science: 4th Series, 167 (1904), 252. • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution: 1904, 779-86, portrait. • Barr, Index to Biographical Fragments, 1973: 289. • Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France: 3rd Series, 4 (1904), 488-93. • Cleevely, World Palæontological Collections, 1983: 322. • DSB: 14, 626-7 [by H. Hölder]. • Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition. • Földtani Közlöny. Budapest: 36 (1906), nos. 10-12, 371-88, portrait. • Geological Magazine: 41 (1904), no. 2, 90-6, portrait. • Journal of Conchology: 53 (1906), 478-81. • La Rocque, History of Geology, 1964: 1, 130 [by J. Cornejo]. • Lambrecht & Quenstedt, Catalogus, 1938: 475. • Naturw.Wochenschr., N.F.: 3 (1904), 359-61. • Palaeontographica: 50 (1904), 3-28, portrait. • Poggendorff: 3, 1487-8 & 4, 1693. • Proc. Verb. Soc. Tosc. Sci. Nat.: 14 (1904), 40-2. • Proceedings of the Geological Society, London: 1903-4, lv-lix. • Quarterly Journal of Geological Society of London: 60 (1904), ???. • Sarjeant, Geologists, 1980: 3, 2490-1. • Sarjeant, Geologists, Suppl. 2, 1995: 2, 1226. • Science: 19 (1904), 117, 186-8. • Verhandlungen Geologischen Reichsanstalt, Wien: 1904, 45-7. • Zeitschrift der Deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft: 56 (1904), 1-7.

8°: π⁶ 1-53⁸ 54¹⁰; 440l.; [i]-xi, [1], [1]-868 p., name index.

Contents: [i-ii], Blank, verso series title page, "Geschichte der Wissenschaften in Deutschland ..."; [iii-iv], Title page, verso blank.; [v]-vii, "Vorwort"-signed Karl A. von Zittel, June 1899.; [viii], Blank.; [ix]-xi, "Inhalt."; [1 pg], Blank.; [1]-843, Text.; [844], Blank.; [845]-868, "Autoren-Verzeichniß."

Very scarce. Published as volume 23 of the series, Geschichte der Wissenschaften in Deutschland, of which Franz von Kobell's Geschichte der Mineralogie (München, 1864) was issued as volume 2; however, Zittel's work has been more successful in that it covers a broader subject and it includes the necessary name index. Zittel divides his study into four periods. 1. The geological science of the ancients (pp. 1-12). 2. Beginnings of palaeontology and geology (pp. 13-75). 3. The heroic age of geology from 1790 to 1820 (pp. 46-215). 4. Newest developements of geology and palaeontology (pp. 216-843). Within the last period, the author has created seven sections. These are: Cosmological Geology, Physiographical Geology, Dynamic Geology, Topographical Geology, Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Palaeontology.

Facsimile reprint, 1964: New York, Johnson Reprint Corporation, 1964.

Bibliographical references: BL. • BMC: 5, 2395. • NUC.

8°: π⁸ 1-34⁸ 35⁹ χ⁶; 295l.; [i]-xiii, [3], [1]-562, [12] p., 13 portraits. Page size: 182 x 120 mm.

Contents: [i-ii], Half title page, "The Contemporary Science Series | [rule] | Edited by Havelock Ellis | History Of Geology And | Palæontology," verso blank.; [Frontispiece].; [iii-iv], Title page, verso blank.; [v]-viii, "Preface."-signed Karl A. Von Zittel, June 1899.; [ix], "Translator's Note."-signed Maria M. Ogilvie-Gordon, October 1901.; [x], Blank.; [xi], Blank.; [xii]-xiii, "Contents."; [1 pg], Blank.; [1 pg], "Errata."; [1 pg], Blank.; [1]-541, Text.; [542], Blank.; [543]-558, "Index Of Authors."; [559]-562, "Index Of Subjects."-page 562, "Printed By Walter Scott, Newcastle-On-Type."; [12 pgs], "New Books | Imported By | Charles Scribner's Sons, | New York City."

Plates: All of the thirteen photographic plates are unnumbered and unsigned. They all show portraits of famous geologists, with the name of the subject at the bottom of the each plate.

The plates in order are: Frontispiece, Karl von Zittel; facing p. 32, James Hutton; facing p. 80, J.B. de Lamarck; facing p. 112, Abraham Gottlob Werner; facing p. 160, Georges Cuvier; facing p. 208, Alexander von Humbolt; facing p. 256, Leopold von Buch; facing p. 304, Sir Roderick Murchison, after a portrait by S. Pearce; facing p. 352, Sir Charles Lyell, after a portrait by G. Richmond; facing p. 384, Sir Richard Owen; facing p. 432, Louis Agassiz; facing p. 480, Baron F. von Richthofen; facing p. 512, Professor Eduard Suess.

Scarce. Translation by Maria M. Ogilvie-Gordon [see note below] from Geschichte der Geologie und Paläontologie (München & Leipzig, 1899), and published as part of the series, The Contemporary Science Series. In this translation, the very many footnotes that occur in the orignal are not present; however, this translation does contain thirteen good portraits not present in the original work.

Facsimile reprint, 1962: History of Geology and Palæontology to the End of the Nineteenth Century by Karl Alfred von Zittel. London, Weldon & Wesley, 1962. 8°: xiii, [2], 562, 12 p., 13 portraits.

Bibliographical references: BL. • BMC: 5, 2395. • Hoover Collection: no. 909. • NUC.