ARNOLD - LUCIEN MONTANDON (1852 – 1922 - Travaux

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484 GABRIELA ANDREI, CORNELIU PANDELE Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Italy, Romania, Asia Minor, Egypt, USA, Canada, Costa- Rica, Santo Domingo, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina (Andrei, 1998). As we have found in F.-J. Montandon’s monograph paper: «Dans les montagnes neuchâteloises, l’on a appliqué aux Montandon une expression assez courante: bon pied, bon oeil. Les Montandon ont toujours eu bon pied et bon oeil» (F.-J. Montandon, op. cit.; Andrei, 1998). He spent his childhood in Jura Mountains. As he reminded himself in one of his papers and as we found in Marcel Montandon’s original notes, his grandfather, Philibert Wuilleumier, from Tramelan, was the first who raised his interest in natural history collections (Andrei, 2006). 1872 – he left Besançon, before reaching 20 years old, and came to Bucharest. 1873 – he fixed his residence in Romania. From his son’s, Marcel, notes we found that: «… c’était un ami suisse qui l’avait engagé à venir en Roumanie». Before leaving France, the young Arnold had worked at Mairot-Détrey Bank from Besançon, for a short period of time, this experience being useful to him when he was employed clerk in a Financial Society, after he had come in Bucharest (Andrei, 2006). «În memoriile sale intitulate “Un demi-siècle de sejour en Roumanie”, lucrare în manuscris, din care mai sunt doar fragmente disparate, el povesteºte cum îmbarcându-se la Baziaº pe un vapor al Societãþii Donau Dampschiffahrer a coborât pe frumoasa Dunãre albastrã cântatã de germani» (In his memories entitled “Un demi-siècle de sejour en Roumanie”, in manuscript, from which only disparate fragments preserved, he was telling how he went down on the beautiful Blue Danube, sung by Germans, after he had embarked at Baziaº on a ship of Donau Dampschiffahrer Society (Pandele 1974) 4 . Dictionnaire historique et biographique de la Suisse, which used as source F.- J. Montandon’s monograph paper from 1913, mentions 1873 as the year when he settled in Romania. In 1993, Andrei & Serafim discussed widely upon this date, analysing several sources, among them being Montandon’s foreword at the catalogue of the coleopteran collection which he was to donate it to the future “Grigore Antipa” Museum, on 30 th of October 1883: «… mes efforts tendrons toujours à faire connaître au monde savant la faune de la Terre hospitalière, où je vis heureux depuis tantôt douze ans.». Taking into consideration only A. L. Montandon’s assertions from 1876 and 1883, the authors think that he came in Romania at the end of 1871 or at the beginning of 1872. Marcel Montandon’s notes regarding his father finally clarify things, fixing this date in 1872 (Andrei, 2006). 1874 – He married Césarine G. Giger from Soleure, born in Geneva, who he met a year before, at a ball of the Swiss Society from Bucharest (Andrei, 2006). 1872–1877: he lived in Bucharest. In a certain moment, the financial society where he worked went bankrupt and he had to find another job. Carol I, then Prince, just bought an estate in northern Moldova, in Bistriþa valley, at Broºteni and searched for a deputy administrator. Private secretary of the Prince Carol, Louis Basset, of Swiss origin, from Vaud, offered this job to Montandon. The idea of the retiring up in the Carpathians did not scared the young people, «L’idée d’aller s’enterrer au fond des Carpathes, à la frontière de Bucovine et de Hongrie n’effraya pas mes parents, au contraire: ils étaient assez jurassiens pour aimer la montagne; et c’était la perspective de la vie libre, la vie aisée, du grand propriétaire terrien qui s’offrait à eux» wrote Marcel in his Memories (Andrei, 2006).
ARNOLD – LUCIEN MONTANDON (1852 – 1922) 485 1875 (31 st of August/12 th of September) – his first son was born in Bucharest – Marcel-Henri (1875-1941), who would become men of letters, well-known in France and Germany (F.-J. Montandon, op. cit.). That time, the Montandons lived in Puþul-cu-Plopi Str. (Andrei, 2006). Arnold Montandon’s first papers are published in Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes. Paris, from 1876, than in 1878, 1879, 1880. Montandon asserted that the collaborators of the journal, especially its founder, Ernest Dollfus, made him to develop «l’amour de l’étude des sciences naturelles…» (Montandon, 1878). 1876 – he became corresponding member of Société d’Etudes Scientifiques d’Angers. In the meeting of 9 th of April 1876 Montandon, «naturaliste à Bukarest (Roumanie)» was listed to be proposed member and «le vote sur l’admission de ces nouveaux membres aura également lieu à la prochaine séance». In the list from 1876-1877 of the members of this society, Montandon is included for three scientifical fields: Entomologie (Coléoptères), Conchyliologie and Botanique. 1877 – also in Bucharest, the second son, René-Jules, was born, that one who would become map maker engineer, explorer of Costa Rica, leaving Bucharest in 1898 and settling in America (F.-J. Montandon, op. cit.). Montandon’s address, mentioned in “Liste d’Echanges” (Entomologie – Coléoptères), in no 76 of Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes, published on the 1 st of February 1877, was Fundãtura Dulgherilor 13, Bucharest. On 19 th of May 1877, Marcel Montandon noted the street Sf. Constantin as his brother’s René birth place (Andrei, 2006). 1877 November – Montandon went in Moldova, at Broºteni, as administrator of the Royal House Estate. In February 1878, in no. 87 of Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes, also at Coléoptères, it is mentioned the address «Brostenii, prin Folticeni, Roumanie» (Broºteni, through Fãlticeni, Romania). In the spring of 1878 Césarine together with her two sons, Marcel and René, left Bucharest for Moldova. They would reach Broºteni, after an agitated and tiresome travel. Marcel was less than three years old, and René was not one year old, yet. The last railway station was 100 km far from Broºteni, so, the last part of the trip was made by cart (Andrei, 2006). 1878 – 1880 – he published Brostenii et la Vallée de la Bistriza and Brostenii et la Fôret de la Bistriza (Montandon, 1878, 1879 b, 1880 a, b, c). 1878 – 1885. Initiation period in molluscs. The young A. L. Montandon was in correspondence with the abbot D. Dupuy, «un nom bien connu parmi les malacologistes de son temps, surtout grâce à son grand ouvrage “Histoire naturelle des Mollusques terrestres et d’eau douce qui vivent en France” (1847 – 1852). Ainsi que l’on peut déduire de la correspondence, D. Dupuy a été l’un des initiateurs de Montandon dans l’étude des mollusques» (Andrei & Pãunescu, 1982). In 1906, Montandon himself wrote about what the great malacologist meant to him: «C’est grâce à l’abbé Dupuy que j’ai commencé, il y a longtemps déja, de m’occuper des coquilles terrestres et d’eau douce (c’est lui qui avait nommé la plupart des espèces qui ont été signalées dans mes publications de 1880) …» (Montandon, 1906 b). 1880 – he published Souvenirs de Valachie (Montandon, 1880 d). In the list of the members of Société d’Etudes Scientifiques d’Angers he was included as «naturaliste à Cruce, domaine princier de Brostenii, plasa Muntele (Moldavie) ». 1883 – he became Knight of the Crown Order (Analele Academiei Române 1904-1905; Pandele, 1974; Andrei & Serafim op. cit.). In October 1883 he already was member of Société Française d’Entomologie (Andrei & Serafim op. cit.)
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ARNOLD - LUCIEN MONTANDON (1852 – 1922 - Travaux

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