After the death of the younger Carl Linnaeus in 1783, the entirety of the Linnean collections, including the letters received by the elder Linnaeus from naturalists all over Europe, was purchased by the English botanist James Edward Smith (1759–1828), later co-founder and first president of the Linnean Society of London. In 1821, Smith published this two-volume selection of the letters exchanged by Linnaeus père et fils and many of the leading figures in the study of natural history, revealing some of the close ties of shared knowledge and affection that bound the European scientific community at that time. Where necessary, Smith translates the letters into English, with the exception of those written in French, which are presented in the original. Volume 1 illuminates the epistolary relationships of Linnaeus senior with Peter Collinson, John Ellis and Alexander Garden, providing a very brief biography of each. Garden's letters to Ellis also feature prominently.
