Carl Linnaeus' writing desk at Important WInter Sale

A rare desk with exciting provenance at this fall's auction

Being able to sell items that belonged to Carl von Linné is a sensation and very rare. The nature-interested and talented priestly son from Småland came through his pioneering research to enter the international history of science. The provenance of the desktop has been passed on for several generations.

At the 200th anniversary of Linnaeus 'birth, the desk was exhibited at the Linnaeus Exhibition at Lund University Art Museum in 1907. There are two Linnaeus desks in museum ownership, one at Linnaeus Hammarby and one in Linnaeus' house in the Linnaeus Garden in Uppsala.

In the newly released biography of Linné, Gunnar Broberg, Sweden's foremost expert on Linné, writes: "Linné is the flower in the buttonhole of Swedish science, a flower that does not wither, despite the passage of time".

Linnaeus' scientific efforts can be summarized in many different ways.

– Created the first complete scientific system of virtually all living things.
– Standardized the methods and terminology to describe living beings.
– He himself classified thousands of animals and plants.
– Established the twin name.
– He showed that all humans are a species within the animal kingdom.
– Created a global natural history through his disciples.
– Taught his time and the afterlife the value of natural knowledge.

Proveniens:

– Carl von Linné (1707 – 1778) enligt tradition
– Hans brorsdotterson, kyrkoherden i Arrie och Hököpinge utnämnd 1842, Samuel Fredrik Nordstedt (1795 – 1861), som transporterar ner skrivbordet från Uppsala

Skrivbordet står kvar i prästgården då det i tur och ordning köps av hans nästkommande två efterträdare:

– Per Lindner (kyrkoherde 1862–1874) och därefter Georg Erland Psilander (kyrkoherde1875-1907)
– Sålt på auktion av Psilander på 1890-talet till inspektor Norén i Hököpinge som överlåter det till konsul
– Anders Stendahl (1838-1908), Trelleborg, Vd vid Hököpinge sockerfabrik
– Därefter i arv till nuvarande ägare

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