Autograph letter signed in the third person to “Miss Smith.”
Publisher Information: London: 1860.
Hooker, William Jackson (1785-1865). Autograph letter signed in the third person to “Miss Smith.” Kew Gardens, July 26, 1860. 2pp. plus integral blank. 184 x 114 mm. Traces of mounting and mounting removal on verso of blank leaf, but very good otherwise.
From botanist William J. Hooker, the first full-time director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and author of over two dozen works on botany. Hooker was appointed head of the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1841; under his leadership Kew grew from eleven acres to its present size of nearly 300 acres, and its collections vastly increased, largely due to a network of Hooker’s former students who brought in specimens from around the world.
In this letter, written in his capacity as director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Hooker refuses “Miss Smith’s” request for plant specimens:
"Sir Wm. Hooker presents his compliments to Miss Smith, & begs to assure her that it is quite impossible to meet the views & wishes & applications for plants, of Amateur Botanists. All would instantly come to Kew for their supply:—& it is the less needful, seeing that the plants enumerated in the enclosed list are provided by Nurserymen, & their stock increased, for the express purpose of supplying the public with what they need."
Book Id: 43011Price: $850.00