Henry Frederick Conrad Sander

In 1867 Sander entered the employ of James Carter & Co., a nursery at Forest Hill, meeting the Czech explorer and plant collector Benedict Roezl.

His premises soon proved to be too small to house his enormous collections, and in 1881 he acquired 4 acres (16,000 m2) of ground in St Albans on which to build a new nursery and home.

The greatly enlarged quarters and Sander's business acumen led to a thriving concern, so that up to twenty three collectors were employed to search forests and mountainous areas in Asia and South America for new species.

Sander's of St Albans handled about two million plants in the 1880s and 1890s, becoming the focus of orchid culture in Europe, where crowned heads were familiar visitors.

Moon married Sander's only daughter in January 1894, and spent another ten years painting orchids before his untimely death in 1905 at the relatively youthful age of 48.

With his commercial success, Sander planned American outlets in the 1880s, establishing a nursery in Summit, New Jersey, US and appointing one of his collectors, Forsterman, to manage the branch.