Hans Engländer Collection

Among the outstanding private libraries last transferred to USB Cologne is the collection of Hans Engländer. The natural scientist and long-time professor at the University of Cologne bequeathed 4,000 extraordinarily valuable books from the field of zoology, especially ornithology, to the USB in his will. Hans Englländer was not only an excellent scientist, but also an excellent book expert, both special features which were combined in his library. He collected precious manuscripts, incunabula, early modern editions and some of the 19th century, including many rare works of impressive beauty and in excellent condition, all his life. With this collection, the USB Cologne moves into the first row of German libraries with large stocks of zoological literature, alongside Berlin, Munich and Wolfenbüttel (R. Schlenker).

The Hans Engländer Collection is currently under construction.

Biographical notes on Hans Engländer (1914 - 2011)

Having successfully completed his first doctoral thesis on ‘The Orientation of Bees’ under the supervision of the zoologist and later Nobel laureate Karl von Frisch at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in Munich, Hans Engländer went on to obtain his doctorate just one year later (1942) at the Faculty of Medicine with a thesis on ‘The Theory of Vision in Albrecht von Haller’, an 18th-century polymath. After a brief stint at the Institute of Hygiene in Saarbrücken, he finally began his academic career in 1948 as an assistant at the Zoological Institute of the University of Cologne. Ornithology remained the focus of his work as a teacher and researcher throughout.

As an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher at the University of Cologne, Hans Engländer introduced many generations of students to the field of zoology and made a deep impression on them not only as a scientist but also as a person through his straightforwardness, his vast knowledge and his modesty. The passionate bibliophile felt a special connection to the USB and had been a member of the Cologne Library Society since its foundation.
 

The Specialised Ornithological Library

In addition to studying the animals themselves, particularly birds, Hans Engländer took a special interest in how they were portrayed in scientific literature. Coming from a wealthy family, he built up a very valuable private library on zoology, particularly ornithology, throughout his long life, literally right up to his final days; this collection comprises precious manuscripts, incunabula, early modern works and 19th-century editions, including many valuable and well-preserved illustrated works. Hans Engländer was not only an excellent natural scientist but also a distinguished bibliophile, a combination of which – and this is what makes it so special – he brought together in his library. He created a special collection, as experts confirm, of international standing. For research purposes, books and other items from the collection can be made available in the Reading Room for Historical Collections.
 

Selected reading

• Wolfgang Schmitz [Hrsg.]: Sammlung Hans Engländer: Übergabe der Sammlung Hans Engländer zur Geschichte der Ornithologie an die Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln am 18. April 2012, Signatur: 16B1213
• Ina Wachendorf, André Welters: Einzigartige Quellen für die Forschung - das Beispiel der Sammlung Engländer, in: ProLibris 2 (2013), S. 70-75
• Rolf Schlenker: Die ornithologische Bibliothek von Hans Engländer in der USB Köln, in: Aus dem Antiquariat, NF 11 (2013), Nr. 5, S. 229-231.
• Stefan R. Sudmann: In memoriam Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans Engländer, 2011