WILSON (George Fergusson, 1822-1902, Industrial Chemist, Founder of RHS Wisley)

Autograph Letter Signed to an unnamed correspondent saying that “as the dinner you kindly ask me to, is an unceremonious one, I shall have very great pleasure in accepting your kind invitation...”, 1 side 8vo., Vauxhall, 25th January

In 1854 Wilson made a major discovery, a process of manufacturing pure glycerine, which was first separated from fats and oils at high temperature, and then purified in an atmosphere of steam. Previously, commercial glycerine had been impure. In later life he lived at Wisley, Surrey, where he devoted himself to experimental gardening on a wide scale. He was particularly successful as a cultivator of lilies. The garden he created at Wisley went to the Royal Horticultural Society, becoming the RHS Garden.

Item Date:  1862

Stock No:  42834      £75

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