1887.12.13 English

              THE ROYAL INSTITUTE

               FOR THE DEAF-MUTE         

                   COPENHAGEN

 

 

13th of December 1887[1]

 

 

      Councillor of State, Sir Steenstrup      Dear Sir,

 

I am taking the liberty of forwarding a small sample of the many and extensive  -  as well as exceedingly appreciative – statements in foreign papers and periodicals concerning the German edition of my “Fragment III”. Yesterday I got an issue of the periodical “Humboldt” with an elaborate presentation of the results of my work; an excerpt of this is also enclosed. From the great statistician Geh: Oberregierungsrath[2] Dr E. Engel I have recently and, once more, received extraordinarily appreciating letters. He has caused Prof. Virochow (?) and Prof. Vosh (?) to take an interest in the issue and  is of the opinion that in particular through the help of Virochow I can fairly soon expect to see my wish fulfilled concerning daily weighings and measurements in German institutions. Prof. Dr Viktor Rydberg[3] has sent me a long and exceedingly positive and encouraging letter. – One of the great pleasures that I derive from my work in this field is also that in spite of the fact that I don’t enjoy in Denmark the hallmark of a scientist, yet foreign scientists and scholars claim the “strictly scientific” character of my modus operandi – in the way I collect the material as well as in the processing and presentation of the results obtained.

 

Warmest greetings from my beloved wife[4] and from myself.

 

 

                        Yours very sincerely and devoted

 

 

                                  R. Malling-Hansen

 

 

 

 

[1] CB: This is a handwritten letter from RMH, hence in italics. This time RMH’s handwriting is – most unusually – amazingly fine and easy to read. Quite odd to see, since it is usually extremely difficult to decipher.

[2] JMC: Titles of a bygone era and from a specific tradition of administration are notoriously difficult to translate, because in most cases they don’t have an equivalent title in today’s world. In German, Dr Engel’s title was defined as: “Beamter der unteren Gruppe des Höheren Verwaltungsdienstes” – in other words: An official of the lower hierarchy of a high-level echelon of administration.

[3] JMC: The appreciation from Viktor Rydberg was very significant indeed! VR (1828-1895) was a Swedish author, poet, journalist, philosopher and cultural historian, as well as a member of parliament. He was a giant among Swedish intelligentsia in the 19th century, as an author, academic, journalist and politician. His standing in Swedish society in the 1880s could be compared to that of Brandes in Denmark although Rydberg was even broader in his interests and influences.  It would be worthwhile to do more research into the connections between RMH and Rydberg. There is a society in Sweden, active to spread knowledge about Viktor Rydberg: www.rydbergsallskapet.nu

 

[4] CB: RMH’s second wife was Anna Steenstrup. Japetus Steenstrup was her uncle.

Japetus Steenstrup, 1813-1897. Photo: The Royal Library
Victor Rydberg, 1828-1895, on a photo from 1876
Anna Steenstup, 1842-1897. Photo: Private