To William Hooker 1    20 February 1862

Melb. bot. Garden

20/2/62.

My dear Sir William.

The monthly mail from England has not arrived as yet altho 10 days overdue; thus I have little occasion to write, beyond expressing a hope that you are enjoying the best of health. I thought to have been able to send you the bound volume of the Victorian Thalamiflorae,2 but it became not ready, the mail being several days earlier despatched than usual.

I have ventured to dedicate this humble production to you as a faint token of my esteem and attachment to you; wishing only I had something more worthy to bring.3 Perhaps the later volumes will be more worthy of your acceptance,the whole extending over 6 volumes.4 — I enclose a bill a loading for some fascicles of Thalamiflorae, sent pr. "Great Britain" in a case to you for Mr Benthams perusal & your selection of duplicates. It would aford me great satisfaction, if the collection will prove useful.

Ever yours in faithful [o]biedie[nce]

Ferd. Mueller.

 

12/6/62

 

By some clerical error in the adress the letter was returned to me with some of the enclosures now sent to you a second time.

 

Thalamiflorae

1
MS black edged; M's sister Bertha died on 7 September 1861.
2
B62.03.03.
3
The dedication in B62.02.01was shared: 'As a tribute | of the author's high regard and gratitude, | these pages are dedicated | to | Charles Joseph La Trobe, Esq., C.B., | to whom, as former Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, this work owes its origin; | to | Sir William Jackson Hooker, K.H., | the nestor of botanists, who, for above half a century, has been a leading star in phytological enquiry; | and to | Sir Henry Barkly, K.C.B., | Governor of Victoria, | Under whose unceasing encouragement these volumes are advancing to completion.'
4
No more descriptive volumes were published, although page proofs of the first 40 pages of what would have been volume 2 (B63.13.06) were distributed (Court, Cowan and Maslin (1994). See M to G. Bentham, 1863 (in this edition as 63-00-00d), 22 June 1863 and 25 January 1864 (in this edition as 64-0­1-25f).

Please cite as “FVM-62-02-20a,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/62-02-20a