238 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [Avcusr, 19 
MR. DAY’S ORCHID DRAWINGS. 
ieee 
ak ean ae 
A VERY interesting note on the above appears in the last issue of the Kew 
Bulletin (1906, p. 177), which we have pleasure in reproducing, as we 
believe that Orchidists will be glad to know more about this fine collection. 
“COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS OF ORCHIDS BY THE LATE Joun Day, 
—In September, 1902, Mrs. Wolstenholme, of High Cross, ‘Cottenham, 
sister of Mr. John Day, well known during his period as an amateur grower 
of Orchids, presented to Kew the very valuable collection of drawings of 
cultivated Orchids made by that gentleman. Mrs. Wolstenholme had : 
previously bequeathed the collection to Kew, but felt that she was delaying 
its usefulness by keeping it in her possession. As delivered at Kew, it con- 
sisted of 53 oblong books of about go pages each, with a complete index. — 
The books have since been bound in 17 volumes, and they contain 
approximately 3,000 coloured drawings, with about 500 in sepia, besides 
copious original notes and a large number of cuttings from the Gardeners’ — 
Chronicle, and other papers relating to Orchids. We have not succeeded 
in finding any published biography of the author, and only a few scattered — 
facts concerning his life and his collections. But Mrs. Wolstenholme has 
communicated the following particulars :—John Day was born on — 
February 3rd, 1824, in London, where his father, a City merchant, resided : 
until 1840, when the family removed to a pleasant old house in Tottenham. 
After his father’s death in 1851 he continued to live at the old home, and 
from there he married in 1853 ; but losing his wife in 1857, he sold the old : 
home, and joined Mr. and Mrs. Wolstenholme at High Cross, Tottenham, 
the present residence of Mrs. Wolstenholme. Thither in 1858 he removed 
his large collection of cultivated ferns, to which he had for some years 
devoted much attention. Shortly afterwards he took u p the cultivation of 
Orchids. He built suitable houses, and soon filled them with valuable — 
plants. In course of time his collection became one of the richest and 
most famous of the period. Then his health broke down, and he visited 
the Mediterranean countries, which gave him a zest for travelling to more — 
remote places, and he subsequently went to India, Ceylon, Brazil, and 
Jamaica. In 1881, previous to these longer journeys, his collection of 4 
Orchids was brought to the hammer, and realised £7,000. Three plants é 4 
Cypripedium Stonei var. platytzenium fetched over £400. Subsequently he : 
again became a collector of living Orchids, chiefly of rare and curious 
kinds. But latterly he devoted much attention to the dried ferns he had 
collected on his travels. He died on January 15th, 1888, and his second = 
collection of Orchids was sold in May of the same year, when a small plant : 
of the Cypripedium mentioned above brought the sum of £159 125. 
“For some years Mr. Day employed Mr, C. B. Durham, a miniature 
i 
2 
sa eal ae 
eb haa oe ES > SAL ene lal a eal 
chante Tae 
