Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham] and 'List of articles contained in boxes HS67-87'

Title

Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham] and 'List of articles contained in boxes HS67-87'

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/7/1/1/62

Date

4-25 Nov 1840

Scope & content

Written from Sonsonate [El Salvador]

Letter No 47

He arrived two days ago from Guatemala; ships are expected within a few days in the port of Acajutla [El Salvador], and he will wait for a passage to Guayaquil [Ecuador]; he sent 21 boxes marked HS67-87 on 4 Nov to Belize via Izabal [Guatemala], and encloses a list of the contents; the Orchidaceae are 'nailed to the sides of the chests, the roots are wrapped up in Tillandsia, leaving the centre free from packing'; he was not able to try packing some boxes with sawdust, as he could not find a sufficient amount; Messrs Aycinena [Pedro & Ignacio de Aycinena, merchants in Guatemala] have given him £400: 'the rest of the unexpired credit I left untouched'; Messrs Wright & Nicholson [merchants in Belize] will draw separately for the shipping and other charges in Belize; he met in Guatemala Mr F. C. Matheson, 'a planter [settler]' in Belize, who offered to send the Society a collection of Orchidaceae from his estate, many of which sound new; he has asked Wright & Nicholson to assist Matheson, and the first shipment will leave Belize in January

Hartweg's accounts for 17 Oct-16 Nov 1840 include 'boxes HS67 to 87' $30.5, '31 mats' $11, 'Tillandsia' $1, 'pots' $1.3 and 'stationary' $2.4 [here the list includes 9 more items], and 'received in cash' $511.6 ('Messrs de Aycinena [Pedro & Ignacio de Aycinena, merchants in Guatemala], balance of their draft for $400')

'List of articles contained in boxes HS67-87'. Signed 'Guatemala November 4th 1840. Theodor Hartweg', comprising lists of plants, dried specimens and seeds sent to England:

List of Orchidaceae, numbered (123-186), includes Odontoglossum elatum [unidentified] ('cuesta of Mixco [Guatemala]'), a species of Stanhopea ('Hacienda de la Laguna. One of the plants had nine large, open flowers on one spike when found'), a species of Epidendrum, Laelia anceps ('village of Escuintla [Guatemala]') and a species of Maxillaria ('this is probably true aromatica [Lycaste aromatica]') [here the list includes 59 more plants]

List of 'roots, perennials and shrubs planted in pots', numbered (187-203), includes a species of Gesnera ('along the river near Escuintla'), a species of Tradescantia ('from inside the crater of the Volcan de Agua [Volcan de Agua, Guatemala]'), a species of Begonia ('in shaded places near Escuintla'), a species of Lobelia ('an orchidaceous plant from the mountains of Acatenango') and a species of Convolvulus ('mountains of Amatitlan [Amatitlan, Guatemala]') [here the list includes 11 more plants]

List of aquatic plants, numbered (204-206), comprises two species of Nymphaeaceae ('in lagoons near Guatemala', 'a variety with white flowers') and an unnamed species ('Laguna de Santa Rosa [Guatemala]')

Includes 'several fine plants of Sobralia macrantha, planted in their native soil' with numerous other plants from the same location

List of Quercus, numbered (1-8), includes live plants and dried specimens of unnamed species of Quercus. 'Along with the boxes of acorns, there is another containing a shrub with a kind of tuberous root, and a few other plants from the mountains of Salama [Guatemala]'

Dried specimens comprise 52 unnamed species, with '20 or more' specimens of each, four species of seeds, one bulb and a few Pinus oocarpa cones

Level

Item

Extent

7 page letter (2 sheets)

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)