Edition
Alexander von Humboldt’s first preserved travel journal was written in 1790 during
his journey to England, where he was accompanied by Georg Forster. The journal
brings together observations on sheep breeding, dyeing processes, and the cloth
trade, on lime kilns, basalt extraction, and cheese production. Within the
botanical and geological observations, specific tendencies of Humboldt’s original
cameralistic education still prevail: he compares the English with his homeland’s
vegetation, provides landscape descriptions, and historical anecdotes. Formally,
the English travel journal shows typical signs of a finger exercise in preparing
travel notes. However, it already points to the later travel journals, such as
those that preceded the American journey.
To the edited text