Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - A clearer view of the Brandywine histories?

chancethegardener · August 15, 2015

I'm hoping that this post will contribute to the discussion on Pink Brandywine's origin. Picture below comes from Maule's 1897 catalog. I'm entering the whole description here as it might be hard to read:

Nothing I have ever introduced has excited so much comment as this magnificent tomato. It is unquestionably one of the largest, most solid and most productive tomatoes grown. They ripen very early, evenly up to the stem, are free of all core, and in flavor surpass anything you ever tasted, especially when eaten raw. Skin, thin, but so tough that they will keep longer in good condition than any other. Color, a rich, unsurpassed red. A strong, vigorous grower, its foliage differs from all others, leaves being entire and not cut. In enormous productiveness it leads all. Over 75,000 gardeners, have pronounced it the most remarkable tomato they have ever seen. In 1886, hearing of just half an ounce of seed taken from selected specimens of the Turner Hybrid, I paid $50 for it, or at the rate of $1,600 per pound. The seed raised from the $1,600 stock can only be obtained from me, and from no other source. The $100 premium in 1895, was secured by J. S. Hunter, Savannah, Mo., with a mammoth tomato, the largest raised. If you wish to surprise your neighbors with finer, larger and more delicious tomatoes than you have ever seen, you must sow this $1,600 strain of Turner Hybrid.

- In the first line of his description, Maule claims that this specific strain is introduced by him.
- Turner Hybrid in Maule's 1897 catalog is certainly a potato leaf variety (leaf illustration on the left also confirms the description).
- Maule's original seed stock apparently comes from a selection of The Turner Hybrid (AKA Mikado) obtained in 1886, same year as the regular-leaf Brandywine (AKA Red Brandywine) was released by Burpee. I don't know what Maule means by 'unsurpassed red.' Is the variety he offers red or pink, this is unclear to me. It is possible that the selection from 1886 is pink and this is what he means by 'unsurpassed red.' Hence, the seeds he offer will later on transform into Pink Brandywine as we know today.
- I believe that regular-leaf Brandywine is also a selection from Mikado (AKA The Turner Hybrid) which was released the same year as the original Brandywine because Mikado is known to be a large tomato whereas Red Brandywine is a mid-size variety.

TH.JPG
MikadoManTSP.jpg
MikadoMan2TSP.jpg

August 15, 2015	#35
chancethegardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: WV Posts: 604	I'm hoping that this post will contribute to the discussion on Pink Brandywine's origin. Picture below comes from Maule's 1897 catalog. I'm entering the whole description here as it might be hard to read: Nothing I have ever introduced has excited so much comment as this magnificent tomato. It is unquestionably one of the largest, most solid and most productive tomatoes grown. They ripen very early, evenly up to the stem, are free of all core, and in flavor surpass anything you ever tasted, especially when eaten raw. Skin, thin, but so tough that they will keep longer in good condition than any other. Color, a rich, unsurpassed red. A strong, vigorous grower, its foliage differs from all others, leaves being entire and not cut. In enormous productiveness it leads all. Over 75,000 gardeners, have pronounced it the most remarkable tomato they have ever seen. In 1886, hearing of just half an ounce of seed taken from selected specimens of the Turner Hybrid, I paid $50 for it, or at the rate of $1,600 per pound. The seed raised from the $1,600 stock can only be obtained from me, and from no other source. The $100 premium in 1895, was secured by J. S. Hunter, Savannah, Mo., with a mammoth tomato, the largest raised. If you wish to surprise your neighbors with finer, larger and more delicious tomatoes than you have ever seen, you must sow this $1,600 strain of Turner Hybrid. - In the first line of his description, Maule claims that this specific strain is introduced by him. - Turner Hybrid in Maule's 1897 catalog is certainly a potato leaf variety (leaf illustration on the left also confirms the description). - Maule's original seed stock apparently comes from a selection of The Turner Hybrid (AKA Mikado) obtained in 1886, same year as the regular-leaf Brandywine (AKA Red Brandywine) was released by Burpee. I don't know what Maule means by 'unsurpassed red.' Is the variety he offers red or pink, this is unclear to me. It is possible that the selection from 1886 is pink and this is what he means by 'unsurpassed red.' Hence, the seeds he offer will later on transform into Pink Brandywine as we know today. - I believe that regular-leaf Brandywine is also a selection from Mikado (AKA The Turner Hybrid) which was released the same year as the original Brandywine because Mikado is known to be a large tomato whereas Red Brandywine is a mid-size variety. TH.JPG MikadoManTSP.jpg MikadoMan2TSP.jpg