During John Herschel's journeys through the mountains of Europe, he maintained in parallel a running correspondence, a personal diary and a daily journal, and one or more data books, linked to particular natural philosophical instruments. Herschel followed in the traditions of alpine scientists Pictet, Saussure, Buch, and Humboldt. He collected crystals, minerals, and fossils; he measured the height of the barometer, the temperature, and the intensity of the Sun. He sketched strata and mountain vistas. Herschel actively sought out this group of geo-researchers and incorporated the mountaineer-savant into his self-image. In this, he provided an example of an astronomically, physically, and chemically trained researcher, whose vision extended beyond the laboratory and theory to include the field.

The recent acquisition and cataloguing by the University of Edinburgh Library of the nearly 300 notebooks of Charles Lyell, author of the Principles of Geology (1830-33), provides a unique opportunity to understand the information-gathering systems of nineteenth century science. Lyell's early notebooks show his use of field practices that were becoming well-established in geology: making of sections and sketch maps, recording of the expertise of local informants, and so forth. However, the notebooks quickly became much more than this. Lyell recorded conversations, social information, reading notes and summaries of letters; he drafted critical passages of prose and experimented with ideas in a kind of internal dialogue. Vital to the use of these notebooks was an extensive series of indices made with the assistance of his wife Mary Lyell and his assistant Arabella Buckley. Comparisons with the diverse diary and notebook-keeping practices of other literary and scientific figures reveal how Lyell developed a hybrid paper technology, which made it possible to condense decades of global travel, reading and thought into a few metres of shelf space.

Due to the increasing scientific specialization, co-authoring is primarily a phenomenon of the 20th century. On the contrary, the specific collaboration during field trips was already common (and necessary) throughout the 19th century. Particularly detailed notebooks are preserved from the palaeontologist and geologist Eduard Suess (1831-1914). His good friend, the naturalist Dominik Bilimek (1813-1884) discovered fossil-bearing strata and accompanied Suess in the field to record the sections near Cracow (Poland). In both travel diaries, corresponding entries can be found and compared. The perspectives and focal points are particularly interesting. Surprisingly, geological entries and sketches by Eduard Suess can also be found within the oldest Dachstein Mountain guide book. An additional aspect is the combination of events from the notebooks with historical newspaper articles.
Several examples of records in geological notebooks are used to illuminate field trips from the different perspectives and the significant information gain (e.g. on field work or collection specimens) by the combination of the various sources. Naturally, the number and scope of facts in the field books vary strongly.
On the other hand, there were organized, institutional excavations with fossil mining from tunnels lasting several weeks, for which no records at all exist. Collection material and reports from publications and inventory books can be used to reconstruct some processes, but this is no substitute for the documentation in the geological notebook.

On May 27th, 1942, an assassination attempt was made in Prague on Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Security Main Office and Deputy Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. A few months earlier, he had chaired the Wannsee Conference which formalized plans for genocide of all Jews in German-occupied Europe. His high offices in Nazi-Germany made him a target for political assassination organized by Czech resistance based in the United Kingdom. Heydrich was severely wounded and died possibly from sepsis on 4th of June.

One of the assassins fled with a bicycle, which was later recovered. Among other forensic specialists, the school teacher and geologist August Göhringer (1883–1952) was called in to investigate. His main concern was the dirt found on the bicycle.

Based on archive materials – letters, personnel files and reports – we will explore, who Göhringer was and why he was known to the authorities as a forensic specialist. We will briefly examine his methods and then look into the consequences of his work for the further development of the Heydrich case as well as for Göhringer’s career in Nazi Germany and beyond.