GRAY (Asa, 1810-1888, American Botanist & Darwinian)

Autograph Letter Signed to Mr Cooke saying that “his wife and I have in vain endeavoured to call upon the Ferns before our departure and we are very sorry we could not bring it about. We are off this morning for Derbyshire & Killarney, having packed yesterday & despatched today 15 cases, boxed up to Liverpool, a large part of which contains dried plants. Please make our kindest regards to Mrs Cooke and your good sisters, and believe us to remain with most pleasant recollections of such an agreeable acquaintance & friendship as we have been privileged to form...”, 1 side 8vo., Kew, 2nd August

Gray is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His Darwiniana was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exclusive. Gray was adamant that a genetic connection must exist between all members of a species. He was also strongly opposed to the ideas of hybridisation within one generation and special creation in the sense of its not allowing for evolution. He was a strong supporter of Darwin, although Gray's theistic evolution was guided by a Creator.
Mr. and Mrs. Gray departed for England on June 11th 1850. They spent the summer travelling to Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Gray then set down to work on the expedition's plant sheets at the estate of botanist George Bentham, whom he had met eleven years earlier, and then with William Henry Harvey in Ireland. Gray returned to England and settled into a routine at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The couple was back in America on September 4th 1851.

Item Date:  1851

Stock No:  42830      £375

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