The archives of the ethnographic museum of the Hanseatic town of Lübeck contain the literary estate of the German traveller Günther Tessmann (1884-1969). Although he was not a trained anthropologist, he nevertheless may be considered one of the pioneers of ethnographic field research. The archival notes are ordered into twelve volumes documenting Tessmann's childhood and youth, as well as his journeys that took him for many years to Africa and South America. A number of ethno-botanic and zoological writings are also included, as well as his pioneering discussion of the phenomenon of cultural change.