Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Vilmorin Andrieux & Companie. to J. H. Landell

High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02711.28 Author/Creator: Vilmorin Andrieux & Companie. Place Written: Paris, France Type: Letter signed Date: 10 January 1859 Pagination: 1 p. : docket : address leaf ; 26.4 x 20.6 cm. Order a Copy

Lists items shipped from Liverpool, including grape vines and fruit trees. Requests that the items be shipped to William E. Jones in Glad Springs, Virginia, as soon as possible.

In 1743, Madame Claude Geoffrey, known as the "maitresse grainetiere" in Paris, opened a boutique for plants and seeds with her husband Pierre d'Andrieux, then the chief seed supplier and botanist for King Louis XV. Geoffrey and Andrieux's daughter later married Philippe Victoire de Vilmorin, who joined the business in 1775. The boutique added Vilmorin's name, becoming Vilmorin-Andrieux and operated for more than two hundred years, collaborating with horticulturalists, farmers, and a natural history specialist to create the first seed catalog. The Vilmorin name gained international status in the nineteenth century when Louis de Vilmorin, a biologist, chemist, and grandson of Philippe de Vilmorin, established groundbreaking research for the modern seed-breeding industry.

Paris January 10th 1859

Sir
We be to inform you that we forwarded on 6th inst. to Harve for shipment to your care per first steamer for New York insured
W.E.J. No. 1 case grape vines
& fruit trees as per enclosed invoice amounting to frs []
Please procure you this parcel without delay and dispatch it with the enclosed invoice to Mr. W.E. Jones, Glade Spring Depot, Virginia and charge forward your expenses.
Sir
Yours very respectfully
P. Paris January 20th 1859
Enclosed please find bill of lading for W.E.J. No. 1 shipped per steamer Asra sailing 22nd from Liverpool for New York Please forward the parcel with enclosed letter without delay to Mr. W. E. Jones.

Vilmorin Andrieux Company, fl. 1775-1975
Jones, William E., 1824-1864

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources