Description:

Bonpland, AimŽ (1773-1858) Needing a machine to turn fleece from his sheep into strands of loose, untwisted fibers to spin and make "coarse cloth, blankets, etc. used in this country," French physician, botanist, and explorer Bonpland writes to his friend going to New York to send him information about carding machines

Rare Autograph Letter Signed headed "Note / from Amado Bonpland for the Sr. Dr. Fredricks" in Spanish, 1p, 8" x 10.5". Born in France, when in Spanish-speaking countries, AimŽ used the name Amado. [Montevideo or Buenos Aires, c. 1850-1852] Fully translated. To Charles D. Fredricks. Docketed on verso by Fredricks "A. Bonpland / List of things to / be sent." Light soiling. Portion mended and infilled with no loss of text. Very Good condition.

In full, "My good friend, when you are in New York, I would be grateful to you to find out first of all what the prices are for wool. I mean ordinary fleeces, those from poor merinos [sheep] and those of varied ancestry; the latter are generally designated mestizos. Finally, add to what has been indicated the import costs. 2. I very much desire to obtain carding equipment for wool. Carding is the process by which fibers, such as cotton or wool, are manipulated into strands of loose, untwisted fibers prior to spinning. Everyone assures me that carders like those used to card cotton exist, but up to today, I have not been able to see even one. I believe that carders in the style of drums are supposed to exist. With this information, my friend, I hope that you will satisfy my curiosity, sending me a letter care of Monsieur Edmond Barthold and Co. in Montevideo. If I am able to continue my speculation in merinos, as I hope, I will have a large amount of wool available, and I will get carders for the coarse cloth, blankets, etc. used in this country." In the early 1850s, the wool business increased markedly becoming the predominant use of land within a 125 mile radius of Buenos Aires. In mid-1853, Bonpland owned over 500 head of sheep.

Stephen Bell writes in "A Life in Shadow: AimŽ Bonpland in Southern South America, 1817Ð1858" (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2010), in part, "Bonpland made the journey from S‡o Borja [Brazil] to Montevideo [Uruguay] accompanied by three daguerreotype artists, part of the first wave of photographers to pass through the region recording the faces of the elites. The most important of these was the New York-born Charles DeForest Fredricks (1823-1894), most remembered today in South America for his early images of the city of Buenos Aires. Bonpland found a rare companion in Fredricks, sharing in common the experience of having journeyed along the Orinoco. The photographer was quick to send a brief account of Bonpland's circumstances to the SociŽtŽ de GŽographie in Paris [1850]. Listening to Bonpland at the age of seventy-eight [1851] planning for the future, Fredricks commented, one might think that he was still a la fleur de son ‰ge (in the prime of life)... Fredricks is a key figure in the history of early South American photography. Traveling there between 1844 and 1853, his roving career touched Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Uruguay, and Venezuela for certain, and possibly also Paraguay. Based at Buenos Aires in 1851-52, Fredricks is regarded as the most important of the photographers active there around the middle of the nineteenth century. Among other things, he was responsible for the first general view of that city. He later opened a well-regarded photographic studio in New York, The Temple of Art."

Many animals and plants are named in Bonpland's honor including the deep sea squid Grimalditeuthis bonplandi, the beetles Megacyllene bonplandi and Chalcolepidius bonplandi, the butterfly Heliconius hecuba bonplandi, the freshwater mussel Unio bonplandi Humboldt, the orchid Ornithocephalus bonplandi, and many, many more. The lunar crater Bonpland is also named after him.

Only two letters of Bonpland have appeared at major public auctions in the past 40 years, none in this century. Written in 1799 and 1800, neither with scientific content, Bonpland wrote to unnamed recipients giving accounts of his travels in South America. They each sold below the $4000 level.

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