LUTHER BURBANK - ENVELOPE SIGNED - HFSID 280693

LUTHER BURBANK
Envelope signed by agriculturist Luther Burbank in Santa Rosa, California and postmarked in 1901. Accompanied by a sepia-toned photo with a white facsimile signature of Burbank standing in a forest.
Envelope signed "Luther Burbank/Santa Rosa". Blue ink notations in bottom right corner in unknown hand. 6¼x3¾. Postmarked Altruria, California, Sept. 18, 1901. With three 2¢ red-and-white George Washington stamps affixed. This envelope has a printed return address of Luther Burbank at Burbank's Experimental Grounds in Santa Rosa, California. It advertises "Horticultural Novelties/NEW CREATIONS IN/TREES, FRUITS AND FLOWERS". Lightly toned and creased. Adhesive residue and paper loss on verso with show-through (does not touch signature). Torn open at right edge. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Photo of Burbank standing in a forest with white facsimile signature in bottom right corner. B/w sepia-toned, 5¼x3¼ overall, 5x3 image, one surface, printed on cardstock. Lightly toned, silvered and bowed. Mounting residue on verso (no show-through). Otherwise in fine condition. Botanist and horticulturist Burbank (1849-1926, born in Lancaster, Massachusetts), a pioneer in agricultural science, developed the Burbank potato from 1872 to 1874 and used the proceeds to move to Santa Rosa, California, where he established a greenhouse, nursery and experimental fields. His Burbank potato, which was introduced in Ireland to help combat the blight epidemic, later became the Russet Burbank potato, which became the most cultivated potato in the U. S. and is today exclusively used for McDonald's French fries. Over his 55-year career, Burbank developed over 800 strains and varieties of plants, fruits and vegetables, including plums, berries, tomatoes, corn, squash, lilies, roses, the Shasta daisy and the Fire poppy. Burbank's eight-volume work, How Plants Are Trained to Work for Man, one of his many writings, was published in 1921.