Letter from Theodor Hartweg, to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham] and 'List of articles contained in boxes HS109-114'

Title

Letter from Theodor Hartweg, to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham] and 'List of articles contained in boxes HS109-114'

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/7/1/1/81

Date

16-17 Jul 1842

Scope & content

Written from Quito [Ecuador]

Letter No 64

He dispatched six boxes marked HS109-114 on 16 Jul, with an enclosed list of contents, to Messrs Polhemus & Mickle [Charles Polhemus and Edward Mickle, American shipping agents in Ecuador] in Guayaquil [Ecuador] to forward them to the British vice-consul Mr Byrne [?Frederick Byrne] at Panama, and then to Messrs Dennistown, Campbell & Co [Messrs Dennistoun, Campbell & Co, merchants in Jamaica], according to his directions; he made an excursion to Nanegal [Ecuador], on the western declivity of the Andes of Quito [Ecuador]; he had to walk for five days through mud and rivers, but he is 'highly gratified' with the results of his journey; he found an interesting oak ('the first discovered in this latitude'), but the acorns were too fragile to send and the tree 'much too tender' to grow in England; he drew £120 on the Society on 11 Jul, of which Messrs Polhemus & Mickle have to pay a premium, due to the high exchange rate in Guayaquil, which they will charge separately along with their shipping expenses; he is leaving in a few days for Popayan [Popayan, Colombia] with Marquis de Litta [?Eugenio Litta Modignani, 4th marquis of Litta] from Milan [Italy], who is travelling 'for his pleasure'; it will probably be necessary to have an escort for at least some of the journey

Hartweg's accounts for 13 Jun-13 Jul 1842 comprise 'monthly allowance' $50, 'wages of mozo [servant]' $5, 'keeping of 3 mules' $7.4 and 'guides to Nanegal and to carry plants back' $3.4

'List of articles contained in boxes HS109-114'. Signed 'Quito July 16th 1842. Theodor Hartweg'. Comprises list of plants and other items sent to England, including '71 sorts of seeds', 'a little box of hummingbirds, directed to Mr Loddiges [George Loddiges, botanist and naturalist, owner of a nursery in Hackney, London]', 'roots of a Thibaudia', 'a small box with land shells from the woods of Nanegal' and '5,598 species of dried plants' [here the list includes 5 more items]

Level

Item

Extent

5 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)