Five scientists on excursion — a picture of marine biology on Helgoland before 1892

Five scientists on excursion — a picture of marine biology on Helgoland before 1892. The picture, of which several variant poses with minor differences exist, is a photograph taken on Helgoland in September, 1865. The original is to be found in the collections of the Ernst-Haeckel-Haus in Jena. The photograph shows only a few objects and fewer persons, but they are arranged like a bouquet: in front, collecting vessels; behind, grouped around a table, five scientists, Dohrn, Greeff, Haeckel, Salverda, Marchi. They hold up their catching nets like insignia, identifying their basic activity. This photograph is a unique document for the marine biological research on Helgoland before 1892. Furthermore, it illustrates a time and place for the birth of the idea of establishing the world's most famous marine biological station, the Stazione Zoologica di Napoli.