Alexander von Humboldt, naturalist and explorer : autograph letter to a Captain Gowan, arranging a meeting at the Hôtel de Londres. Paris, c.1830.

1 page, quarto (260 x 200 mm). Manuscript in ink on fine wove paper with a monogram watermark; written entirely in the third person in French in Humboldt’s idiosyncratic scrawl, the letter is dated simply ‘a mardi’ (Tuesday) and is addressed (indirectly) to a Captain Gowan, whom Humboldt invites to a rendezvous at 2 o’clock the following afternoon ‘chez lui’ at the Hôtel de Londres, in order that he might enjoy his ‘interessante conversation‘; not signed, but endorsed by Gowan at left edge ‘Baron de Humboldt’; verso blank; original folds, some off-setting and light marks at the margins, remnants of old hinges at two edges, else very good.

In 1808, following his travels in the Americas and Italy, the great Prussian geographer, naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) settled in Paris, the major centre of scientific research in Europe of the time, remaining there until 1827; however, after moving permanently to Berlin in 1828 he made frequent visits to Paris, and it appears likely, given that he indicates he is staying at the Hôtel de Londres (in the Place Vendôme, 1st arrondissement), that this letter was written during one of those return trips. We believe his correspondent may well be Captain William Gowan, a former Bengal Army officer who was a founding member of the Royal Asiatic Society (1823), the South Australian Land Company (1831), and the South Australian Association (1833).

Provenance: Autograph album compiled by Jane Emma Murphy (Balcombe) (1854-1924), socialite, philanthropist and suffragist, “The Briars”, Mornington, Victoria (later St. Kilda, Melbourne); à Beckett family, Melbourne (by descent).