Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham]

Title

Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham]

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/7/1/1/40

Date

19 Mar 1839

Scope & content

Written from Oaxaca [Mexico]

Letter No 28

He met several people in Mexico City [Mexico] to talk about his journey to Guatemala, 'all of whom concurred in the opinion that it is imprudent to proceed thither at the present moment'; Mr Whitehead [Charles Whitehead, mine-owner in Mexico], whose brother is the partner of Mr Skinner [George Ure Skinner, British merchant and naturalist in Guatemala] in Guatemala, had heard that 'the ringleaders of the rebellion are said to have accepted of some lucrative situations under government, & promised to be quiet for the future'; some people recommend the route from Acapulco [Mexico] to Guayaquil [Ecuador] and back to Istapa [Ixtapa, Mexico], while others suggest going via Havannah [Havana, Cuba] to Belize and from there to Guatemala, and others say the most direct and least expensive route, also favoured by Hartweg himself, is by Chiapas [Mexico]; the post to Guatemala will pass through in a few days, and he intends to write and ask Skinner's opinion; he has plenty to occupy him in the neighbourhood presently; he went to see Mr Ashburnham [Charles Ashburnham, British secretary of the legation in Mexico], who was unable to do anything without correspondents in Guatemala; there are no English residents 'on the road beyond the town', but he received at Mr Parkinson's [John Parkinson, consul in Mexico] request a dozen letters of introduction from the Prussian minister, Mr v Geralt [Friedrich von Gerolt, German minister plenipotentiary to Washington] to 'respectable persons in various ports'; he left Mexico City on 2 Mar with Mr Smith [unidentified], 'who brought a convoy', and arrived at Oaxaca 18 Mar; he has written several letters to ask people to collect 'striking plants, but I think it will have very little effect, they having but very little inclination for scientific pursuits during their hours of leisure'; the 'French question' is settled, and as the ports are open, the boxes at Veracruz [Mexico] and Tampico [Mexico] are likely to be dispatched soon; six boxes (HS17-22) arrived at Veracruz, and Messrs Munoz & Co [merchants in Mexico] promised to have them shipped promptly; he sent four boxes (HS23-26) from Mexico City to Veracruz a few days ago, with a box marked TH1 containing dried specimens of plants, 55 skins of hummingbirds, about 50 skins of other birds and 'a small bag of mineralogical specimens'; the hummingbirds can be given to Mr Loddiges [George Loddiges, botanist and naturalist, owner of a nursery in Hackney, London]: 'the rest I beg to be kept till my return'; Messrs Byrns & Co [Messrs Byrns, Hooton & Co, merchants in Mexico] will draw a bill 'at 30d [$] right at the exchange of the day for the sum of $1079.6, of which a detailed account will be found on the other side'

Hartweg's accounts for 17 Feb-16 Mar 1839 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $18 and 'keeping of 3 beasts' $17.5. 'portage of new instructions' $3.3, 'pasting of 2 maps on linen' $4.4 and 'repairing of saddles' $3.7, and 'received in cash' $500 from Messrs Byrns & Co [merchants in Mexico]

The letter includes a copy of a letter to the Horticultural Society from Messrs Byrns & Co, dated 1 Mar 1839, Mexico [Mexico City, Mexico], comprising a list of 'sums paid to and on account of Mr Hartweg' since 31 Aug 1838, including 'cash paid [for] Custom House charges & freight of 4 boxes' $17.6, 'amount paid in San Luis [San Luis Potosi, Mexico] on account of Mr Hartweg (for an ineffectual search for seeds of Mahonia trifoliata [identification unresolved as at Jun 2019])' $6, 'cash paid for paper &c for Mr Hartweg' $3.6, 'cash paid Mr Hartweg' $500 and 'amount of postages, porterage etc since January 1837' $30, with the sum total of $1,079.6

Level

Item

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)