To W. B. Tegetmeier 18 July [1871]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent.
July 18th
My dear Sir
I am very sorry to hear about the skull. My vague impression is that I returned it to you separately. After returning to you the main lot, I made a selection of all my skeletons & catalogued them & sent them to the British Museum, & threw away all the refuse.2 As I knew the Horned Skull well (& still remember it perfectly) & knew that you valued it, I could not by accident have sent it to the B. Museum. To make sure I have looked through 2 cupboards & a Box, in which I kept all skeletons, & I find my memory correct, for there is not a bone of any kind left. I think that you must have put the skull somewhere or lent it to some one. I cannot believe that I neglected to return it to you.— I am very sorry for its loss.—
Many thanks for the interesting account of the cat show, & especially for the skin & capital case of the Turbit.—3
With my sincere thanks | Yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Descent 2d ed.: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. London: John Murray. 1874.
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Summary
One of WBT’s poultry skulls has been misplaced; CD cannot believe he neglected to return it.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-7871
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Bernhard Tegetmeier
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Archives of the New York Botanical Garden (Charles Finney Cox Collection)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7871,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7871.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 19