Letter from Robert Fortune to Dr Lindley [John Lindley, assistant secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], Horticultural Garden, Turnham Green, London

Title

Letter from Robert Fortune to Dr Lindley [John Lindley, assistant secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], Horticultural Garden, Turnham Green, London

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/8/1/16

Date

13 Jan 1843

Scope & content

Written from 43 Albany Street, Edinburgh

Postmarked ('JAN E13E 1843', '[illegible] JA16 1843', '13JA13 1843'). The letter includes an opened seal

He acknowledges receipt of Lindley's letter enclosing a letter from Lord Derby [Edward Smith-Stanley, earl of Derby, British secretary of state for war and the colonies]; he will be happy to collect anything, but is 'rather diffident about going to see him at Knowsley [Merseyside], as I fear he will think me rather ignorant in those branches of natural history which he patronises most', and would prefer to correspond by letter; he cannot leave Edinburgh before Wednesday as there are no steam ships before that; he asks advice relating to accompanying Lindley to Liverpool; he read in the Gardener's Chronicle that he will have a 'rival in a person from Kew [the Gardener's Chronicle announced in 1843 that Thomas Lobb would be travelling to Java and China on behalf of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew; he does not appear, however, to have travelled to China, but collected plants on behalf of the Veitch nurseries in Singapore, Java and Malaysia in 1843-1847]'

Extent

3 page letter (1 sheet)

Is part of

RHS archive: plant collector papers

Repository

Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library

Copyright

Royal Horticultural Society

Credit Line

RHS Lindley Collections

Usage terms

Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)