Correspondence of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and Dr Asa Gray

Two bound volumes containing about 200 autograph letters exchanged between Sir Joseph Hooker (1817-1911), Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Dr Asa Gray (1810-88), a leading American botanist, together with 33 letters from Hooker to his wife, Hyacinth, 35 letters from Hooker to various people, and some letters to Hooker from other correspondents. Hooker was a close friends and associate of Charles Darwin, and Gray was the leading proponent of Darwinian theory in America. Their letters discuss botanical matters, research, travels, practical working circumstances and Darwin's work. Hooker's letters to his wife, some up to 16 pages long, were mostly written on his travels and give detailed accounts of what he has seen and done, and people he has met.