Saxicola caprata francki Rensch, 1931 (1 Viewer)

[Taphrospilus]

Saxicola caprata francki Rensch, 1931 OD here

Trotzdem gelang es Herrn Dr. DAMMERMANbei seiner 2 1/2-monatigen Sammeltätigkeit unter Assistenz von Herrn Taxidermist P. FRANCK noch weitere 14 Formen neu nachzuweisen und darunter einige sehr interessante Endemismen, die den Eindruck verstärken, dass diese lnsel schon relativ lange isoliert ist.

The Eponym Dictionary of Birds claims:

Pied Bushchat ssp. Saxicola caprata francki Rensch, 1931
Paul Friedrich Franck (fl.1940) was a German big-game hunter and taxidermist at Zoological Museum Buitenzorg, (Bogor), Java (1922-1940). He died (c.1943) in a WW2 prisoner-of-war camp in India.

The Key to Scientific Names

Paul Friedrich Franck (fl. 1940) German big-game hunter, taxidermist at Zoological Mus., Buitenzorg, Java 1922-1940, who died at a POW camp in India during WW2 (subsp. Saxicola caprata).

So any idea about the life dates of the man accompanied Karel Willem Dammerman ( born Arnhem , Netherlands , 4 July 1885 , died Leiden , 19 November 1951)?

 

[PScofield]

Here it tells us his full initials were P.F.F.J. Franck and that he really was interned:

Several records indicate he was northern German which leads us to:

Paul Friedrich Ferdinand Julius Franck (sometimes spelled Frank)
Birth Place	Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Birth Date	8 June 1892

his death is poorly documented.

German Civilians during WWII were generally held in Clement Town (Dehra Dun) or Deoli (Ajmer).

The British Archives may have the answer - you would have to visit the British Library and read these files:

IOR/L/ PJ/8/1-76 Collection 101: Aliens ‎ (1931-1950) which includes subcategories such as IOR/L/ PJ/8/31 Coll 101/10AA; Nominal rolls of internees and parolees in India and IOR/L/ PJ/8/34 Coll 101/10AB; Reports on internment camps in India (excluding Japanese camps) ‎ (Oct 1942-Oct 1945).

United Kingdom High Commission files relating to cemeteries IOR/R/4/1-539 1943-1967. Transferred from Indian Public Works Department to the British High Commission, New Delhi, and from there to the India Office Records in 1972-73.

If you wonder why he was held in an internment camp his allegiances may be gauged by his mustache in this photo!

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Nothing much, nothing 'new', and certainly nothing (truly) contradictory, just some minor additional details (some flesh on the bone/s).

In my notes I have Mr Franck (even if only mentioned in context of others, together with the Dutchmen Dammerman, and van Hasselt) as nothing but: "P. F. (Paul Friedrich) Franck, Dutch (or possibly German?) taxidermist and collector, in/at Java, Indonesia, in most of the 1930's."

Some (additional) specimens of the extremely rare Indonesian Mountain Weasel Mustela lutreolina ROBINSON & THOMAS 1917, was apparently collected by "Paul Friedrich Franck" on Java, Indonesia (in 1935 I think), at least according to this piece (from 2007, based on the Leiden Museum accessions register). Thus, Maybe Justin know more about this collector?

Also see this piece/paper (all in Dutch): by F. J. Appelman (not by Franck himself, which is easy to believe, by the reference below):
Franck, P. F. 1934. Rhinoceros sondaicus in West-Java. De Tropische Natuur 23 (4): pp.73–79.
... where he's: "den heer P. F. FRANCK, taxidermist van het Museum, ..." (also including the same Photo, as in Paul's post #2).

If the true full name of "our guy" truly was "Paul Friedrich Ferdinand Julius Franck" (as claimed/shown by Paul in the same post) he himself sure doesn't seem to have used two of the latter (given) names.

Just some observations.

/B

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Of all taxa (not only among Birds), I think he's only commemorated in the first-mentioned taxon, the Pied Bushchat ssp. Saxicola caprata francki RENSCH 1931 (OD in post #1).

Though, of course, as always, don't hesitate to show otherwise.

Either way, he's not to be confused with the guy commemorated in (the following, earlier taxa):
• the North American butterfly Franck's Sphinx Sphinx franckii NEUMOEGEN 1893 (here), from "Kansas City", ... "collection of George Franck, Esq.", "I take great pleasure in naming it after my friend, Mr.George Franck, of Brooklyn, a well-known lepidopterist."
... who, most likely, also was commemorated in:
• the (Chilean) Wishbone/tube-trap-door Spider "Acanthogonatus Franckii" KARSCH 1880 (here, on p.392), note; there written/typed with double ending-ii [thus, not francki, as told by ITIS (here)!?]
• and in the (Argentinian) Moss Beetle Gymnochthebius francki BRUCH 1915 (OD unseen by me), supposedly as "Ochthebius francki"

Nor with the guy commemorated in:
• the plant/spurge Euphorbia franckiana (A.) BERGER 1907, here (from Southern Africa): "Ich habe sie zu Ehren des nun verstorbenen Herrn Harry Franck ..."

To me it looks like "our" P. F. Franck kept himself, and his collecting efforts, in South East Asia (where he also, seemingly, and sadly Ended up, once and for all).

Also see the following text (here), from Zoologische Verhandelingen, No. 162, by L. B. Holthuis (from 1978), where we're given the following details, about "P. F. Franck" (on p.7), which also incl. a claim (alt. a confirmation) of him being of German origin:

P. F. Frank (birth data and place (in North Germany) unknown, died in a prisoner of war camp in India during World War II) was appointed taxidermist at the Zoological Museum in Buitenzorg in November 1922 and held that position until May 1940 when he, because of his German nationality, was interned and sent to a P.O.W.-camp in India, where he died before the end of the war. Franck's main interest was in big game and he published several papers on that subject. A photograph of him with a rhinoceros that he had shot can be found in a paper by Appelman (1934: 74, fig.1). [i.e. the same Photo as we've already seen (above)]

And finally, in De Tropische Natuur XIV (3), of Maart/March 1925, we find a text on "TAXIDERMIE EN DERMOPLASTIEK" (on pp. 41–46), which seems to have been written by Mr Franck himself (all in Dutch – by the look of it; about the Noble Art of stuffing Cows!), signed:

P. FR. FRANCK.
Buitenzorg. Conservator.
[here]​

Title Page here

Well, that's it! That's (just about) all I can find about him ....

Enjoy!

And: Good luck finding his exact Death year (if possible, of course, hopefully also a ditto date, or month).

/B

 

[l_raty]

Here it tells us his full initials were P.F.F.J. Franck and that he really was interned:

FWIW, this can be seen in full here : Science And Scientists In The Netherlands Indies : New York City Board For The Netherlands Indies Surinam And Curacao : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive