WCP2866

Letter (WCP2866.2756)

[1]

LA MORTOLA,

VENTIMIGLIA,

ITALY.

8. Decr 1906

My dear Dr Wallace,

Your letter1 of the 4th has found me here. I cannot recollect what became of the letters received by my late brother from Dr Richard Spruce[.]2

In the memoir of Daniel Hanbury3 written by Mr Joseph Ince4 whose present address is Glenholme 13. Alfred Rd, Acton is the following passage at page 20, alluding to my late brother's correspondents.

"The letters of Richard Spruce the explorer of the Amazon and Rio Negro would fill a decently sized volume."

After my brother's death in 1875, I presented his herbarium to the pharmaceutical society, Bloomsbury Square, London [2] where it now is, carefully looked after by the Curator Mr E. M. Holmes.5 It may contain specimens sent by Spruce.

Both Ince & Holmes are my friends and hold the memory of Daniel in the highest esteem. If you write to them please use my name. —

I will write to my sister Mrs Aggs,6 Pippbrook, Dorking who was present at the death of Daniel and may recollect what became of the letters of Richard Spruce.

I shall be happy to aid in any other way I can[.]

With kind regards | yours sincerely | T. Hanbury7 [signature]

[3]8

The letter has not been found.
Spruce, Richard (1817-1893). British botanist, explorer and collector in the Amazon; lifelong friend of ARW.
Hanbury, Daniel (1825-1875). British botanist and pharmacologist.
Ince, Joseph (1826-1907). British pharmacist and author.
Holmes, Edward Morell (1843-1930). Curator of the Materia Medica Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society 1872-1922.

Aggs (née Hanbury), Anna Christy (1830-1913). Sister of Daniel Hanbury

(1825-1875) and Thomas Hanbury.

Hanbury, Thomas (1832-1907). British businessman, gardener and philanthropist.
Envelope postmarked “9 12 06”.

Please cite as “WCP2866,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2866