| AdminHistory | Isaac Henry Burkill (1870-1965) was an English botanist who worked in India and the Straits Settlements, in present day Singapore. Whilst he primarily worked in economic botany, he published on ethno-botany, plant biology, insect and plant interactions. He also described several species. He wrote a detailed history of botany in India and published a two volume compilation on the plants of economic importance in the Malay Peninsula. |
| Description | Correspondence of Isaac Henry Burkill, dated 1953-1958. Unless otherwise stated, letters are from Burkill addressed to H. Stansfield.
1. 1953 Sep 25. Grateful for reprint of Stansfield's paper on Royle's herbarium. Cannot understand how the plants discovered by Stansfield came to be in Liverpool. Details of Royle's academic life.
2. 1953 Sep 30. Asks that a copy of reprinted article be sent to Father H. Santapzu, S.J., in Bombay.
3. 1954 Apr 7. Grateful for copy of paper on Royle's plants. Royle chatter.
4. 1955 Sep 26. Stansfield to Burkhill. About plants given to Klein by Heyne. Will be "sacked" when in a year’s time he reaches the age of 65.
4a. 1955 Oct 2. Interesting that Stansfield identified Vigne's plants in the Royle collection. About Vigne, von Huegel, Carey, Roxburgh, Voigt, Beckett.
5. 1955 Oct 11. Beckett and Wall evidently were correspondents of Thwaites.
6. 1955 Dec 19. Grateful for copy of Liverpool Bulletin. Had not known much of Roscoe. Is trying to find out about Traill and Inglis.
7. 1955 Jan 17. Grateful for notes on G.W. Traill. Encloses notes on Vigne's travels in Kashmire. Intrigued by Inglis.
8. 1956 Feb 6. Stansfield to Burkill. Will be sending information on Rottler and Klein.
9. 1956 Feb 7. Encloses Vol. 7, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Page 53: what he felt compelled to say about Gentiana coronata. About Vigne.
10. 1956 Feb 14. Stansfield to Burkill. Specimen of G. coronata Royle in bad condition. Nothing can be done in the way of relaxing and dissection.
11. 1956 Feb 17. Parcel returned from the Post Office with books and fragments of the wrappings. Letter with the books not returned.
12. 1956 Feb 20. [Repeat of Letter No. 10 but with different date.]
13. 1956 Feb 23. A dead end regarding the plant in question. Neither could climb Kedarkanta to look for its like. Kusnezov's description.
14. 1956 Mar 28. Asks for personal details of Beckett.
15. 1956 Apr 3. Stansfield to Burkhill. About Beckett. Klein’s history to date. Seeks more details. Asks for information about Rottler. Attached is copy of My career, by Klein.
16. 1956 Apr 7. About the men who botanized in India.
17. 1956 Apr 10. The Church in Madras refers to Koenig and Rottler but not as botanists.
18. 1956 Apr 21. Returning labels. Chatter about botanists.
19. 1956 May 4. In Paignton. New Zealand Veronicas look sorry for themselves, Fuschias have been killed.
20. 1956 May 15. Back home and sending Foulkes's biography of Rottler
21. 1956 Jun 19. MS of Chap. 2 on the history of botany in India on its way to father Zantapzu for his criticism. Asks where Royle collected his specimens and where they now are.
22. 1956 Jun 29. Stansfield to Burkill. Two Saunders in India. Quotations from Royle.
23. 1956 Jul 4. Correct in disassociating one Saunders from the other. Royle's specimens from Lippa in Kunawar. Does not know their whereabouts.
24. 1956 Jul 11. The Saunders whose identity they wanted was attached to Turner's staff.
25. 1956 Sep 22. About dried specimens Vigne had given to Royle.
26. 1956 Oct 17. General chatter.
27. 1958 Mar 19. General condition not good. Interested in the choice of Thwaites for the Ceylon garden. About Roxburgh, Merrill and Holttum.
28. 1958 Aug 17. About whether or not Heyne went to India. Chatter.
29. 1958 Dec 5. About Heyne. Chatter about named botanists.
Also includes a MS obituary for Burkill, dated 1970. Typewritten on loose sheets in folder. |