Press Release

Secrets unfold at Kew

Purchase of Hooker letters

Antique correspondence between two of the greatest botanists of the 19th century has returned to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Letters dating back to the 1850's grant a personal insight into the thoughts of Sir Joseph Hooker, considered the first Director of Kew Gardens.

The letters are primarily between the Director and the leading American botanist Dr. Asa Gray. They discuss the work of their close friend and respected naturalist Charles Darwin, pre and post the publication of On the Origin of Species, as well as early theories on the movement of land masses and biogeography.

Darwin initially approached Hooker to ask him to classify plants that he had collected in the Galapagos - the trip that famously sparked the development of his theory of evolution by natural selection and a scientific collaboration which grew into life-long a friendship. Hooker also shared a warm professional friendship with Asa Gray who was the earliest and most influential supporter in America of Darwin's theories. Gray was one of the world's most distinguished pioneers in the field of plant geography, his greatest achievement being his numerous publications elaborating the descriptive botany of North America.

Hooker to Gray: “I am determined to start in my investigations on a different principle & to try to square all my facts with (or arrange them by) the most modern doctrines, without therefore adhering to or accepting those doctrines. The old theory of absolute creations, of single individuals or pairs is used up! Quash them & what's the use of arguing any more.”

As well as the scientific breadth of the correspondence, the letters also provide a more personal glimpse into the lives and family matters of the Victorians, including Hooker's thoughts on being away from home and even on philosophy. There are thirty three letters from Hooker to his wife, Hyacinth, mainly written whilst he was on his travels. From Hooker to Hyacinth "... I miss you awfully, I do not like this going about without you, at all..." These are up to 16 pages long and narrate what he had seen, the people he met and his thoughts on being away from home and his family.

"My own plans are quite unsettled & I sometimes think seriously of giving up Kew & living in London & writing for the Press. The fact is that I have another baby expected & really can hardly support myself on this book [Flora Indica]: nay, which occupies all my time & entails very heavy expenses. Living here is most expensive.”

There are a small quantity of other letters chiefly to Lady Hooker, by various correspondents, including George Bentham, A Grant Duff and Lord Lindley and also some seventy-five autograph letters from Jane Gray written after her husband's death, chiefly to Joseph Hooker and some to his wife Lady Hooker.

Christopher Mills, Head of Library, Art and Archives, said: “This is the most important set of original documents that Kew has purchased for many years. We already hold a large number of important letters to and from Hooker but these are particularly significant in that we have the corresponding letters between these two important nineteenth century botanists in which they are discussing the important new ideas of the day, but also the day to day issues affecting their family, giving us an insight to the private individuals which one does not often get.”

Many of Hooker's floras were illustrated by Walter Hood Fitch, who was trained in botanical illustration by Joseph's Father; William Hooker. Walter Hood Fitch was one of the most prolific botanical artists ever. The letters also came with a lithographed portrait of Hooker dated 1908 and a pair of steel-rimmed spectacles.

Ends

Further Information

For further information please contact Catherine Owen, Bronwyn Friedlander or Anna Quenby, Kew press office, telephone 020 8332 5607, e-mail pr@kew.org.

Notes to Editors

The purchase was made with help from the Friends of the National Libraries, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and an individual anonymous donor. The acquisition includes 272 autograph letters in two volumes, some several pages long, some incomplete, with extensive and detailed discussions of botanical matters, as well as passing on news of their personal and domestic lives, well upwards of 1000 pages, 2 volumes.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew is a UNESCO-inscribed World Heritage Site and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. The site houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace . RBG, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. www.kew.org.

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens, opening in spring 2008, will be the first gallery in the world dedicated to botanical art and open to the public all year round. The gallery, designed by award-winning architects Walters and Cohen, will exhibit precious works of art from the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Dr Shirley Sherwood, many of which have never been on public display before including work from Walter Hood Fitch. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew holds one of the world's greatest collections of botanical art, totalling over 200,000 items.

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