Autograph letter signed to David H. Storer
1860
by Sprague, Charles James
1860. Sprague, Charles James (1823-1903). Autograph letter signed to "My dear Doctor" [David Humphreys Storer (1804-91)]. 2pp. plus integral blank. N.p., May 15, 1860. Creased where folded, faint traces of mounting on verso of blank leaf, but very good. From Charles James Sprague, botanical curator of the Boston Society of Natural History (now the Boston Museum of Science) to fellow naturalist and BSNH member David H. Storer. Sprague specialized in the study of lichens, and amassed a large collection of specimens that is now housed at Harvard University. He was an intimate friend of botanist Asa Gray (best known as an early supporter of Darwin's theory of evolution), and contributed many valuable specimens and critical notes to Gray's collections. Sprague's correspondent, David H. Storer, was a physician and naturalist who in 1837 was appointed one of the commissioners of the Natural History Survey of the Massachusetts Commonwealth authorized by the state's legislature. Storer spent 30 years recording and classifying Massachusetts's fish and reptiles, publishing his findings both as part of the survey and in separate works such as A History of the Fishes of Massachusetts (1867). He also enjoyed a distinguished career as a physician, serving as Professor of Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence at the Harvard Medical School. Sprague's letter reads in part: "Thank you for a look at the Quil[l]aia bark! The plant belongs to the Order Rosaciae. "I must frankly confess that I have no acquaintance whatever with the economical aspects of the vegetable world. Having no knowledge of chemistry, the particular points which would interest you in matters relative to botany are just those of which I am profoundly ignorant. "One of the most useful things to result from our proposed new building will be the gathering together of all those vegetable products used by mankind for food, comfort, convenience etc. which will enable just such seekers after information as yourself to find the very identical substance for personal experiment. . . ." In the last paragraph quoted Sprague refers to the BSNH's plan to construct a new museum building; the building, designed by William Gibbons Preston, opened in 1864 and remained in use until 1949. "Charles James Sprague" [obituary notice], Rhodora 5 (1903): 234. "David Humphreys Storer," Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 27 (1893): 388-391. . (Inventory #: 43321)