Leonard Gershe

Typed letter signed by Luther Burbank, the overachieving horticulturist we can thank for an improved Irish potato (the Russet, now known as the Idaho) and more than 800 strains and varieties of other beneficial plants. In this brief letter he conveys gratitude to a colleague in Puerto Rico for a new breed of Nightshade sent to Burbank’s Experimental Farms in Santa Rosa, California. Letter in excellent condition, with slight ghosting across signature due to folding of the envelope while ink was still wet. With original postmarked envelope in fair condition.

Luther Burbank (1849-1926) was an American botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science. He developed hundreds of strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. Burbank’s varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables. Burbank’s most successful strains and varieties include the Shasta daisy, the Fire poppy, the July Elberta peach, the Santa Rosa plum, the Flaming Gold nectarine, the Wickson plum, the Freestone peach, and the white blackberry. A natural genetic variant of the Burbank potato with russet-colored skin later became known as the Russet Burbank potato. This large, brown-skinned, white-fleshed potato has become the world’s predominant potato in food processing.