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/7/1/1/21

Date

20 Feb 1838

Scope & content

Written from Zacatecas [Mexico]

Postmarked ('London 15 May 1838'). The letter includes an impression of an opened seal

Letter No 15

He has sent to the care of Messrs McCalmont & Lyall & Co [merchants in Mexico] in Tampico [Mexico] five boxes to be sent by the next English packet [ship]; the boxes are marked as follows: HS4 contains Orchideae from Bolanos [Mexico], HS5 contains cacti from Bolanos, HS6 contains '5 sorts of terrestrial Orchideae, 11 sorts of bulbs, 76 sorts of seeds and a few cacti from Zacatecas', HS7 contains eight sets of dried specimens of plants, and HS8 contains 12 sets of dried specimens of plants; in re-packing the cacti from Bolanos he found 'the tall, bearded kind' in a 'poor state', with only the points of two fit for transporting; the sets of the dried specimens consist of 258 plants, and he has retained those of which he did not have enough 'to make a distribution over the whole'; set No 1 is for the Society, and the 19 remaining sets he wishes to charge the subscribers £5 3s 2d each; he is also sending a parcel containing a few specimens of the new Mahonia from Zacuapan [Zacualpan, Mexico]; he would have sent the seeds and plants much earlier had he not experienced many difficulties in procuring a means of conveying them to the coast; he will start on the journey to Santa Barbara [Santa Barbara, Mexico] in a few days, after purchasing a cargo mule, which is 'indispensable', as he had many difficulties in transporting plants, seeds and provisions on previous excursions; he will need the mule afterwards when he goes north of Zacatecas, where the country is sparsely populated; he attaches a copy of this month's expenses

Hartweg's accounts for 17 Jan-17 Feb 1838 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $18, 'keeping of horses' $16 and 'freight of luggage & plants' $10 and '5 boxes marked HS4-8 with hay & matting' $20, and 'received in cash' $250 from William Henderson [?of Anglo-Mexican Mining Association or another mining company] in Zacatecas. Written from Zacatecas [Mexico]

Postmarked ('London 15 May 1838'). The letter includes an impression of an opened seal

Letter No 15

He has sent to the care of Messrs McCalmont & Lyall & Co [merchants in Mexico] in Tampico [Mexico] five boxes to be sent by the next English packet [ship]; the boxes are marked as follows: HS4 contains Orchideae from Bolanos [Mexico], HS5 contains cacti from Bolanos, HS6 contains '5 sorts of terrestrial Orchideae, 11 sorts of bulbs, 76 sorts of seeds and a few cacti from Zacatecas', HS7 contains eight sets of dried specimens of plants, and HS8 contains 12 sets of dried specimens of plants; in re-packing the cacti from Bolanos he found 'the tall, bearded kind' in a 'poor state', with only the points of two fit for transporting; the sets of the dried specimens consist of 258 plants, and he has retained those of which he did not have enough 'to make a distribution over the whole'; set No 1 is for the Society, and the 19 remaining sets he wishes to charge the subscribers £5 3s 2d each; he is also sending a parcel containing a few specimens of the new Mahonia from Zacuapan [Zacualpan, Mexico]; he would have sent the seeds and plants much earlier had he not experienced many difficulties in procuring a means of conveying them to the coast; he will start on the journey to Santa Barbara [Santa Barbara, Mexico] in a few days, after purchasing a cargo mule, which is 'indispensable', as he had many difficulties in transporting plants, seeds and provisions on previous excursions; he will need the mule afterwards when he goes north of Zacatecas, where the country is sparsely populated; he attaches a copy of this month's expenses

Hartweg's accounts for 17 Jan-17 Feb 1838 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $18, 'keeping of horses' $16 and 'freight of luggage & plants' $10 and '5 boxes marked HS4-8 with hay & matting' $20, and 'received in cash' $250 from William Henderson [?of Anglo-Mexican Mining Association or another mining company] in Zacatecas

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)