1871 Descent letters
Volume 19 of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, contains more than 800 letters from the year 1871 when Descent of Man was published, many of them on the subject of human nature. A selection of the most important are being made available here, in advance of the online publication schedule, as part of the Human Nature initiative.
The reception of Descent :
7627 from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871
7492 from James Crichton-Browne, 19 February 1871
7501 from W. W. Reade, 21 February 1871
7509 from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871
7494 from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871
7683 from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871
Contexts of support:
7912 from F. E. Abbot, 20 August 1871
8114 from Ernst Haeckel, 21 December 1871
Difficulties in accepting Darwin’s theory:
7692 from Roland Trimen, 17 and 18 April 1871
7768 from J. B. Innes, 26 May 1871
7776 to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871]
13770 from A child of god, [after 24 February 1871]
7516f Emma Darwin to F. P. Cobbe [14 April 1871]
The role of Darwin’s daughter, Henrietta Darwin, in the creation of Descent :
7605 to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871
New information on human evolution sent to Darwin after the publication of Descent :
7515 from Charles Louis Bernays, 25 February 1871
7697 from Hinrich Nitsche, 18 April 1871
7553 from Arthur Nicols, 7 March 1871
Theoretical debate:
7411 from E. J. Pfeiffer, [before 26 April 1871]
7645 from John Morley, 30 March 1871
7685 to John Morley, 14 April [1871]
7470 from Hensleigh Wedgwood, [before 3 March 1871]
7537 to Hensleigh Wedgwood, 3 March [1871]
7542 from Hensleigh Wedgwood, [3-9 March 1871]
7454 from St G. J. Mivart, 24 January 1871