Lester's Perfected Tomato

TomatoDon · July 24, 2019

I just read an interesting article from a newspaper archive from 1870 that discusses the "Lester's Perfected Tomato."

Are Lester's Perfected seeds still available anywhere? I can't find much, if anything meaningful, about this tomato. One brief mention in another article made me wonder if it's a plum tomato.

Are any of you familiar with Lester's Perfected Tomato? Have any of you grown it?

Thanks in advance.
Don

jtjmartin · July 27, 2019

Don:

I can't find any contemporary mention of it and very few historic. Here's one historic:

In 1874 I produced the Essex Hybrid the first large purple tomato known This was a cross between the Essex Smooth Round and Lester's Perfected tomato After proving this variety for three years and finding it to be first class in every respect I introduced it to the public in 1878 It has proved wherever grown to be one of the best and most profitable tomatoes in cultivation In 1875 the Acme was introduced by Livingston This is a smooth purple tomato of good quality but inclined to spot with black rot on the fruit Livingston brought out successively the Perfection . . .

July 24, 2019	#1
TomatoDon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MS Posts: 1,523	Lester's Perfected Tomato I just read an interesting article from a newspaper archive from 1870 that discusses the "Lester's Perfected Tomato." Are Lester's Perfected seeds still available anywhere? I can't find much, if anything meaningful, about this tomato. One brief mention in another article made me wonder if it's a plum tomato. Are any of you familiar with Lester's Perfected Tomato? Have any of you grown it? Thanks in advance. Don __________________ Zone 7B, N. MS

July 27, 2019	#2
jtjmartin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Williamsburg VA Zone 7b Posts: 1,110	Don: I can't find any contemporary mention of it and very few historic. Here's one historic: In 1874 I produced the Essex Hybrid the first large purple tomato known This was a cross between the Essex Smooth Round and Lester's Perfected tomato After proving this variety for three years and finding it to be first class in every respect I introduced it to the public in 1878 It has proved wherever grown to be one of the best and most profitable tomatoes in cultivation In 1875 the Acme was introduced by Livingston This is a smooth purple tomato of good quality but inclined to spot with black rot on the fruit Livingston brought out successively the Perfection . . .