Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
The Dawson News
Dawson, Terrell County, Georgia
What is this article about?
The estate of the late Mrs. George B. Wilson in Great Neck, Long Island, houses a renowned orchid collection valued at $1,000,000 with over 7,000 plants. Started as a hobby by her millionaire husband, it involved global expeditions and was moved from Philadelphia during wartime coal shortages.
Clipping
OCR Quality
Full Text
COLLECTION IN LONG ISLAND STARTED AS HOBBY CONTAINS MORE THAN 7,000 PLANTS.
A collection of orchids, valued at $1,000,000 and reputed to be one of the greatest in the world, is housed on the estate of the late Mrs. George B. Wilson, in Great Neck, L. I.
More than 7,000 plants are in the collection, some so large they must be kept in 10-inch pots.
The plants are in the care of Peter Rethroe, superintendent of the estate, who has been in charge of them many years. He assisted in their importation from all parts of the world, many of the finest from England and South America.
The collection was started by Mr. Wilson, who died several years ago. He was a millionaire real estate operator and orchids was his hobby.
His wife shared his enthusiasm for the flowers and, for many years, both spent fortunes and used the services of hundreds of men in gathering rare blossoms in all parts of the world.
Expeditions Sent.
The Wilsons financed scores of orchid-gathering expeditions and retained experts in South and Central America, Borneo and Asia to seek specimens for them.
At one time the collection consisted of 20,000 blossoms. That was early in war time, when the collection was housed in the Wilson town house in Philadelphia. Because of the shortage of coal, however, it had to be moved to the conservatories at Great Neck.
What sub-type of article is it?
What themes does it cover?
What keywords are associated?
What entities or persons were involved?
Where did it happen?
Story Details
Key Persons
Location
Great Neck, L. I.
Story Details
Millionaire George B. Wilson started an orchid collection as a hobby, growing it to over 7,000 plants valued at $1,000,000 through global expeditions financed by him and his wife. After his death, it remains on their Great Neck estate under superintendent Peter Rethroe's care, moved from Philadelphia during wartime coal shortages.