Walter Jardine Letters

Item set

Title
Walter Jardine Letters
Creator
Jardine, Walter, active 1860s–1870s
Description
The Walter Jardine Letters comprise a collection of nineteenth-century correspondence relating to the establishment and early development of the Grahamstown Botanical Gardens during the 1860s. The letters are associated with Walter Jardine, who was appointed Superintendent of the Gardens in 1867, and reflect his professional engagement with botanical networks in southern Africa and Britain.

The correspondence includes letters from prominent botanists, most notably Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Topics addressed within the collection include the acquisition, transport, cultivation, and identification of plant specimens, as well as the logistical and scientific challenges of maintaining a colonial botanical garden during this period. The collection provides valuable insight into nineteenth-century botanical exchange, imperial scientific networks, and the history of botany in the Eastern Cape.
Language
English
Provenance
The collection was donated in 2021 by Dr W. I. (Ivor) Jardine. Walter Jardine, Superintendent of the Grahamstown Botanical Gardens after 1867, was the brother of Dr Jardine’s great-grandfather.

The transfer and relocation of the materials to Rhodes University were facilitated by Tony Dold, Curator of the Selmar Schönland Herbarium.
Type
Collection
Correspondence
Archival documents
Publisher
Cory Library for Humanities Research, Rhodes University
Subject
Botanical gardens—South Africa—Grahamstown—History
Botany—South Africa—History—19th century
Plant introduction—South Africa—History
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew—History
Scientific correspondence—19th century
Contributor
Hooker, Joseph Dalton, 1817–1911
Jardine, W. I. (Ivor)
Dold, Tony, 1958–
Kelly, Jean
Date
1867–1870s (predominant)
Spatial Coverage
Grahamstown (Makhanda), Eastern Cape, South Africa
United Kingdom
Extent
Manuscript letters (number of items varies)

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