Career

Collecting localities

Collections

Literature

Biographical data

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 1: Cyclopaedia of collectors)

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 5: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement I)

Born: 1864, Breslau, Germany. Died: 1937, Stabelwitz near Breslau, Germany.

career:

Rural economist, owner of an estate at Stabelwitz near Breslau, who made some New Guinea expeditions. From 1899-1903 (1905 according to the below-cited German biography) Director of the German New Guinea Company.

The ‘Beiträge zur Flora yon Papuasien’ published in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. (1912 →) were edited under his auspices, he himself being one of the contributors. Besides, he is the author of many papers pertaining to the vegetation of New Guinea.¹

He is commemorated in several plant species and in the genus Lauterbachia Perk.

Collecting localities:

Voyage round the world via America, Hawaii, New Zealand (Aug.-Sept. 1889), Victoria (Oct.), New South Wales (Nov.), visiting Thursday Isl. (Jan. 3, 1890) and Java: some 10 days at Buitenzorg (Jan.), in E. Java climbing G. Ardjoeno (Febr. 12-13); in March 1890 sailing for former Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, NE. New Guinea:² arriving in April, originally with the intention of exploring the Kaiserin Augusta River, which plan was abandoned, however; Finschhafen (May 1), Butauèng (3); Bismarck Archipelago: Neu Pommern (= New Britain), Blanche Bay; Kerawara Isl. (May 14); New Britain, at Ralum (14-21), Cape Gazelle, Mt Mutter (28), Mt Kaje (29), Mt Mutter (June 3), etc., and sailing for Nusa Isl. (arriving June 11); back to the mainland of NE. New Guinea: Finschhafen (July 1-. .) and neighbourhood; Sattelberg (July 22-27); by boat to the Huon Gulf (early in Aug.); Bonga near Finschhafen (26-27); Tami Islands (28); Finschhafen (Sept-early in Oct.); Astrolabe Bay, Konstantinhafen (Oct. 11). -Gogol Expedition, 1890,³ to former Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, NE. New Guinea. Starting (Oct. 15) in company with Kärnbach; the Gogol River proved to be innavigable and so the expedition was made by land; break-up into the interior (not before Nov. 6); the party came to a stand-still on account of illness (26); Kärnbach made an attempt to proceed with part of the members, but returned the same day (29), completely exhausted; returning (Dec. 1), making camp at the mouth (Dec. 4) (in total covering 70 km); passage to Konstantinhafen (9); sailing from New Guinea (Jan. 1891) back to Germany- 1896. Kaiser-Wilhelmsland Expedition⁴ Embarking at Genoa (March 10); Friedrich Wilhelmshafen (Apr. 23); while E. Tappenbeck put the finishing hand to the equipment, Lauterbach and O. Kersting set out from Erima Station (Astrolabe Bay) for an ascent of the Oertzen Mts (Taju Mana) (May 12-18; the 16th on the summit); the whole expedition starting from Erima (May 30) in western direction, partly by way of the Nuru Basin (Elisabeth River); Kersting and Tappenbeck returning (June 6) to Stephansort to fetch stores, while Lauterbach undertook an ascent of the Sigaun; Kersting back in bivouac again, Lauterbach breaking up to the coast to lend a hand to Tappenbeck; after re-union proceeding downstream in western direction (July 6); reaching the Ramu (10), making camp at the base of the Bismarck Mts; downstream by canoe (Aug. 3-15), returning on account of shortness offood; bivouac at the base of the Bismarck Mts (Sept. 3) (in the meantime it had become evident that the Ramu River was identical with the ‘Ottilienfluss’ which was discovered by von Schleinitz in 1886); Lauterbach and Kersting ascending a summit of 990 m alt. of the promontory of the Bismarck Mts (Sept. 4-6); return by the same way (8); back at Stephansort (16) ; Neu Pommern (= New Britain): Herbertshöhe (Oct. 13-20); voyage home, possibly via Java (according to Backer, Verkl. Woordenb., 1936, Lauterbach paid a 2nd visit to that island in this year), Singapore (Nov. 9); Genoa (Dec. 9).⁵ -1899. Moluccas: Ambon and Bandaneira (Aug); 3rd Ramu Expedition,⁶ to former Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, NE. New Guinea (with Rodatz and Klink): Mouth of the Ratio (= Ramu) (Sept. 28); main station near Arumene (Oct. 10), and proceeding by canoe; it is evident from his collections that he stayed near the Ramu in Oct., Nov. 4 in the Bismarck Mts, Nov. 20 near the Schumann River, and back at the Ramu mouth on Dec. 19; in Jan. or Febr. 1900 the expedition returned to Astrolabe Bay. He probably sailed for Germany shortly after, as in the meantime he was appointed Director of the New Guinea Company.-According to the cited German biography he set out once more on a tour of inspection in 1902, but returned to Singapore on account of illness.

collections:

Herb. Berl. [B]: 1500 nos of siphonogams from Kaiser-Wilhelmsland (1890-91 coll.) and together with Kersting & Tappenbeck 931 nos (1896); 67 Fungi from New Guinea and New Hanover; 173 mosses from New Guinea, Australia and Java; 200 nos of siphonogams from the Moluccas and New Guinea (1899). Probably the specification is rather rough, so he may have collected siphonogams in Java too.

New Guinea dupl. in Herb. Bog. [BO] (128), Brit. Mus. [BM] (108), Kew [K] (200); Herb. Bot. Gard. St Petersb. (= Leningrad [LE]) (7); some in U.S. Nat. Herb. Wash. [US]; Herb. Leiden [L] (New Guinea, Ambon, Bandaneira). In Herb. Breslau [WRSL]: c. 25.000 specimens from New Guinea and the Pacific (pres. c. 1938, probably bequest o£ his private collection). About 200 New Guinea dupl. at Kew [K] (purch. from Berlin), some leg. Kärnbach.

Several papers are based on his collection;⁷ besides botanical, he made ethnological and zoological collections.⁸

literature:

(1) C.A.G. Lauterbach: ‘Die geographischen Ergebnisse der Kaiser Wilhelmsland Expedition’ (Zeitschr. Ges. Erdk. Berl. 33, 1898, p. 141-177 + 2 maps); ‘Neuere Ergebnisse der pflanzengeograph ische Erforschung Neu-Guineas’ (Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 45, 1911, Beibl. 103, p. 22-27, w. map); ‘Die Pflanzenformationen einiger Gebiete Nordost-Neu Guineas and des Bismarck Archipels’ I-IV (Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 62, 1928, p. 284-304, 452-501, 550-569 and l.c. 63, 1929, p. 1-28, 419-476); papers on the collections of Peekel and Keysser (see there) and some papers relating to agriculture (e.g. in Deutsch. Kolon. Zeit. Berlin N.F. 11, 1898, p. 325 seq. and Zeitschr. f. trop. Landwirtsch. Berlin l, 1897, p. 11, 123-129 and 155-160).

(2) cf. Wichmann, Entd. Gesch. N.G., in Nova Guinea vol. 2², who extracted the dates from Schumann & Lauterbach: ‘Flora der Deutschen Schutzgebiete in der Südsee’ (1901).

(3) C.A.G. Lauterbach: ‘Eine Expedition zur Erforschung des Hinterlandes des Astrolabe Bai’ (Nachr. Kais. Wilh. Land 7, 1891, p. 31-62).

(4) cf. Verb. Ges. Erdk. Berlin 24, 1897, p. 51-69, 1 pl.; Nachr. Kais. Wilh. Land 12, 1896, p. 36-44; l.c. 13, 1897, p. 52-55 and l.c. 14, 1898, 51-59; Zeitschr. Ges. Erdk. Berl. 33, 1898, p. 141-177 w. 2 maps).

(5) cf. Deutsch. Kolon. Blatt 8, 1897, p. 5.

(6) Only scanty data on this expedition are known, even Wichmann could obtain no further information.

(7) V.F. Brotherus: ‘Musci novi papuanae’ (Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 17, 1893, p. 476-481).

W. Schmidle: ‘Epiphylle Algen nebst einer Pitophora and Dasya aus Neu Guinea’ (Flora 83, 1897, p. 304-326).

A. Engler: ‘Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Araceae’ (Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 25, 1898, pp. div.).

P. Hennings: ‘Fungi novoguineenses’ (Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 18, 1894, Beibl. 44, p. 22-40 and l.c. 25, 1898, p. 495-509).

Schumann & Lauterbach: ‘Die Flora der deutschen Schutzgebiete in der Südsee’ (Leipzig 1901). ‘Beitrage zur Flora von Papuasien’ (in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 1912→).

S. Hatusima: ‘A revision of the genera from New Guinea described by C. LAUTERBACH’ (Bot. Mag. Tokyo 65, 1952, p. 109-111).

(8) For literature based on his collections of birds cf. Wichmann, Entd. Gesch. N.G., in Nova Guinea vol. 2², p. 829.

biographical data:

Ber. D.B.G. 55, 1938, Gen. Vers. Heft p. (231)-(247) (this biography by Hub. Winkler unfortunately is rather untrustworthy); Backer, Verkl. Woordenb., 1936; Chron. Bot. 4, 1938, p. 76-78 + portr.