Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham]
Information
Title
Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham]
Record type
Archive
Original Reference
RHS/Col/7/1/1/65
Date
20 Apr 1841
Scope & content
Written from Guayaquil [Ecuador]
Letter No 49
Annotated in pencil at the top of the first page 'With care of the British v. consul [vice-consul] at Panama', with further pencil annotations in the same hand regarding merchants and locations in Panama
He acknowledges receipt of a letter dated 15 Dec [this letter is not present in the collection], addressed to Guayaquil and Loxa [Loja, Ecuador], but no information about his 'money affairs' has arrived: 'I see there is one for Mr Cope [Walter Cope, British consul in Ecuador] with the Society's seal, bearing the postmark of the 15th of Jan, which I dare say is relating to my business', but Cope is still in Quito [Ecuador]; he shipped the box HS88 with three species of epiphytes on 31 Mar to Hamburg [Germany] on board the Emmy, whose captain promised to forward it to London; he will send more collections before continuing to Loxa, including two species of bulbs, a few seeds and '60 species of plants or 800 specimens'; the rainy season will soon be over, and the roads will be passable; the temperature is now 80°-85°, and the heat is 'very oppressive'; he is in excellent health, but finds the 'myriads of mosquitoes' a nuisance; he is anxious to hear news of his collection from Guatemala, especially about how the sobralias, oaks and the potted plants survived; he asks for a copy of Mr Bentham's [George Bentham, secretary of the Horticultural Society of London] 'Plantas Hartwegianas [George Bentham, 'Plantas Hartwegianas imprimis mexicanas adjectis nonnullis Grahamianis enumerat novasque describit Georgius Bentham', 1839–1857, Bentham's description of Hartweg's collection]': 'it can easily be sent under a newspaper cover marked 'Impreros''; letters for him should be sent 'to some person in Panama, who is to pay the land portage, to which they are subject'
Hartweg's accounts for 13 Mar-13 Apr 1841 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'boat hire up the river of Guayaquil' $4.4, 'box HS88 & shipping' $1.2 and 'freight of box HS88 to Hamburg' $5
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)