Autograph letter signed by travel writer Clarke Abel, China dated 1817

ABEL, Clarke (1789–1826). Autograph letter signed, Brunswick Square, 6 October 1817.
 
1 sheet, 125 x 185 mm. Written on one side only. Old horizontal folds, fade dink otherwise good.
 
A brief letter from the physician, naturalist and explorer Clarke Abel concerning correspondence relating to the slave trade. Abel apologises for the delay in forwarding a previous letter, explaining that he had only recently obtained the recipient's address from Mrs Colebrooke.
 
Clarke Abel served as chief medical officer and naturalist on Lord Amherst's embassy to China (1816–17), publishing the important Narrative of a Journey in the Interior of China (1818). Although he died aged only thirty-seven, Abel made significant contributions to zoology and botany, with numerous species later bearing his name. Any letters from him are scarce.