Public Library
2nd April 1864
My dear Sir
I have been authorised by the Trustees of the Library to purchase the two works on the Verbenaceae & Euphorbeaceae1 mentioned in your notes and to thank you for having remembered us previous to retransmitting them to Europe.2 But with reference to the presentation to Miss Maund3 of your own excellent production the Trustees have instructed me to inform you that they will most willingly procure from the Government of Victoria the "Fragmenta" and the Plants of Victoria"4 and present them in their own names to that excellent Lady. Still this will indeed be a most inadequate return for the many valuable presents with which Miss Maund has enriched the Melbourne Public Library.5
With the greatest respect
I have the honor to be
Yours most truly
(Signed) Augustus Tulk Libn6
F. Mueller Esqr M.D.
Government Botanist
Euphorbeaceae
Verbenaceae
Euphorbiaceae?
Works not identified.
Probably Eliza Maund, assuming that she was the sister who accompanied John Maund to Melbourne in 1853, unnamed in the ADB entry for him: in the list of donors to the Melbourne Public Library, Age (Melbourne), 1 October 1859, p. 5, 'Miss E. Maund' is recorded as presenting 'Maund's Botanic Garden, 6. vols. (completion of set)'.
Three bound volumes of M's Fragmenta had been issued by the date of this letter, B60.02.04, B62.02.03 and B63.04.06; only the first volume of his Plants indigenous to the colony of Victoria was ever issued as a complete volume (B62.03.03).
No request to the Trustees for presentation volumes for Miss Maud has been found. Titles given by Miss Maund are recorded in Public Library of Victoria (1873), p. 134; the dates of the gifts are not noted.
Librarian.
Please cite as “FVM-64-04-02,” 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