His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty has, according to His high Cabinet Decret dated July 16th 1863 been graciously pleased to confer on the University Professor and Director of the botanical Gardens, Melbourne Australia
Dr Ferdinand Mueller
the knight Cross of the most honorable Order of Franz Joseph.
The Chancelery of the Order has now the honor to transmit the corresponding Decoration with the request, that the enclosed Revers in regard to the future restitution of said Decoration to the Treasury of the Order may be signed and dated and remitted to the Chancelery1
signed Baron von Lichtenfels
Chancelor of the Order
Vienna July 17th 18632
M duly signed the document and returned it to Vienna; see M to the Chancellery of the Franz Joseph Order, 20 October 1863.
Below the date there appears the stamp of the Franz Joseph Order’s Chancellery. See also M to C. Darling, 12 December 1863.
MS appears to be a copy prepared at the Austrian Embassy in London; see R. Apponyi to M, 4 August 1863 (in this edition as 63-08-04a), written in a very similar hand and signed by Apponyi who was the Ambassador in London.
Please cite as “FVM-63-07-17,” 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