Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society [George Bentham], 21 Regent Street, London

Title

Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society [George Bentham], 21 Regent Street, London

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/7/1/1/5

Date

17 Feb 1837

Scope & content

Written from Guanaxuato [Guanajuato, Mexico]

Postmarked ('London 29 Apr 1837'). Part of an opened seal is attached to the letter

Letter No 3

He left Mr O'Gorman's [George O'Gorman], and moved to his 'old quarters' in the house of Messrs Meade [Richard W. and Denis Meade, merchants in Mexico], correspondents of Messrs Byrns Hooton & Co [merchants in Mexico], who supply him with money for his expenses; his expenses are much higher this month than the $50 allowed, as he cannot go out collecting without horses and a man, due to the risk of being stoned or lassoed, 'as happened to several foreigners'; the climate necessitates travelling by horse, and he has to travel several miles to get out of the area overgrazed by sheep and goats; he has found plenty to occupy himself and has collected seeds, some of which he thinks will prove to be new; [annotated in pencil with a square drawn around the paragraph] Mr Lavater [Karl Lavater, Swiss consul in Mexico] asks the Society to provide him with seeds for his ranch, particularly rhubarb, pea, sorrel, melon and tobacco [here the list includes 8 more plants], and some flower seeds, to be sent to Mr Edelmann [Joseph Edlmann, merchant in London], Liverpool Street, London, who will forward them to Messrs Stallforth, de Wilde & Co [merchants in Mexico] in Vera Cruz [Veracruz, Mexico]; in exchange, Lavater can send some Orchideae, which are plentiful in his forest, or some young oaks or acorns, but the latter 'would not even be half-hardy in England'; he provides a copy of his expenses for the last month

Hartweg's accounts for 14 Jan-16 Feb 1837 include 'personal expenses' $19.5, '2 horses' $60, '2 saddles, reins etc' $45, 'armas de agua' $11, 'maize, hay & straw' $11.1 and 'wages of the mozo [servant]' $12 [here the list includes 4 more items]. Written from Guanaxuato [Guanajuato, Mexico]

Postmarked ('London 29 Apr 1837'). Part of an opened seal is attached to the letter

Letter No 3

He left Mr O'Gorman's [George O'Gorman], and moved to his 'old quarters' in the house of Messrs Meade [Richard W. and Denis Meade, merchants in Mexico], correspondents of Messrs Byrns Hooton & Co [merchants in Mexico], who supply him with money for his expenses; his expenses are much higher this month than the $50 allowed, as he cannot go out collecting without horses and a man, due to the risk of being stoned or lassoed, 'as happened to several foreigners'; the climate necessitates travelling by horse, and he has to travel several miles to get out of the area overgrazed by sheep and goats; he has found plenty to occupy himself and has collected seeds, some of which he thinks will prove to be new; [annotated in pencil with a square drawn around the paragraph] Mr Lavater [Karl Lavater, Swiss consul in Mexico] asks the Society to provide him with seeds for his ranch, particularly rhubarb, pea, sorrel, melon and tobacco [here the list includes 8 more plants], and some flower seeds, to be sent to Mr Edelmann [Joseph Edlmann, merchant in London], Liverpool Street, London, who will forward them to Messrs Stallforth, de Wilde & Co [merchants in Mexico] in Vera Cruz [Veracruz, Mexico]; in exchange, Lavater can send some Orchideae, which are plentiful in his forest, or some young oaks or acorns, but the latter 'would not even be half-hardy in England'; he provides a copy of his expenses for the last month

Hartweg's accounts for 14 Jan-16 Feb 1837 include 'personal expenses' $19.5, '2 horses' $60, '2 saddles, reins etc' $45, 'armas de agua' $11, 'maize, hay & straw' $11.1 and 'wages of the mozo [servant]' $12 [here the list includes 4 more items]

Level

Item

Extent

4 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)