Theo Ripken en Edi Gittenberger tijdens diens studietijd in Leiden

Theo Ripken and Edi Gittenberger , early days at Leiden University In an interview Theo Ripken has told about his recollections of Edi Gittenberger during their biology study at Leiden, which for both began in 1961. They were than the only students interested in malacology and a year later were joined by Wim Backhuys. At that time Edi had already published his first malacological paper on fossil marine shells collected at an artificial dune in Breskens, a little town in the far south-western part of the Netherlands. Here, his father - who had moved from Austria in the beginning of the 20th century - ran a book-shop, making it relatively easy for Edi to purchase malacological literature. Edi and Theo made a number of collecting trips, initially at different locations in Holland and Belgium. In 1964 both visited the Austrian malacologist Walter Klemm (1898-1981) at Bad Ischl. In 1966 Edi, Theo and Wim, after visiting the congress of the German malacological society, made a collecting trip in Austria and northern Italy. More collecting trips followed. As already mentioned Edi Gittenberger started his malacological career with collecting fossil marine shells but it seems that under the influence of Theo Ripken Edi’s interest in land snails, amongst which clausiliids, has been awakened. Indeed, during the eighties Theo was introduced to the American malacologist Alan Solem (1932-1990) with the remark that thanks to Theo Edi had started working on land snails. Solem then congratulated Ripken with a firm handshake. The work for the well known book on the land snails of the Netherlands by Gittenberger, Backhuys & Ripken (1970) already started in 1967. In 1984 a second revised and enlarged edition was published. The ongoing co-operation between Edi and Theo has resulted in more publications, for which Theo, as he puts it, has done the collecting and Edi the writing