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Acknowledgments This work originated in the early 1990s, while I was finishing my master’s degree in anthropology. The discipline of anthropology was deeply in the throes of the so-called literary turn. In the midst of this intellectual confusion , I enrolled in a fascinating seminar about the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands taught by Karen Peacock, the librarian of the Pacific Collection at Hamilton Library at the University of Hawai‘i. She made the bold suggestion to situate anthropology in a historical context. She further encouraged me to contact David Hanlon at the History department, who quickly introduced me to the field of Pacific Islands history and highlighted its potential to illuminate anthropological studies. He also pointed at the close relationship of my study to world history and encouraged me to work closely with Jerry Bentley. Drs. Bentley and Hanlon provided much-needed guidance as I used a historical perspective to explore important issues in German anthropology. Two other historians were also tremendously important in shaping the work at hand: Herbert Ziegler, who assisted with his expertise in German history, and David Chappell, whose input on Pacific imperial history was of prime importance.This book also greatly benefited from Alan Howard, who instructed me in my first approaches to ethnography. Financial support for research and writing came from many sources. I received a generous dissertation grant from the Dai Ho Chun Foundation as well as two Trustees’ Scholarly Endeavors Program Grants at Hawai‘i Pacific University and several faculty development grants at the California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI), including a Martin V. Smith Grant for Scholarly Excellence. A sabbatical leave (2006–2007) from CSUCI paved the way to bring the manuscript to conclusion. Numerous individuals aided in the production of this book by supporting my quest for archival sources. Robert Welsch at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago provided me with initial insights into the nature of ethnographic collecting in New Guinea and continued to advise me as the project moved further along. In Germany, it was the friendly staff at the Linden Museum in Stuttgart that assisted me in my mission, especially Ingrid Heermann, Ulrich Menter, and Dietrich Schleip. At the Berlin Ethnological Museum Markus Schindlbeck assisted with sources and publicaix tions. In Obergünzburg, Ingrid Weiß provided me with information from her personal collection of letters and photographs. The staff at the museums of Bremen, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg, Leipzig, and Munich as well as the official state and national archives contributed greatly to this endeavor. I am grateful to my peers who assisted in the development of the work, read the manuscript or parts of it, and made helpful suggestions: Pierre Asselin , Izabela Betlinska, Matti Bunzl, Bill Cummings, Celine Dauverd, Amy Denton, Andrew Evans, Jerry Feldman, Shannon Farley, Christoph Giebel, Marta González-Lloret, Chris Gosden, Anne Hatori, Nian-Sheng Huang, Mimi Kahn, “Jun” Montemayor, Michael O. Hanlon, H. Glenn Penny, Glenn Petersen, Joakim Peter, Dave Robyak, Ed Slack, John David Smith, Richard Sperber, Peter Wilcox, Lora Wildenthal, Sabine Wilke, and Andrew Zimmerman. My deepest thanks are reserved for my family, who made this work possible. My parents Jürgen and Irmgard Buschmann were most unwavering in their support of this book, and my dedication of this book cannot fully illustrate my debt to them. Further gratitude is owed to close relatives and friends who opened their doors to me during my yearlong research in German archives. x Acknowledgments ...

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