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Darwin Correspondence Project

From Albert Günther   21 December 1881

British Museum

21. 12. 81

My dear Mr. Darwin

In consequence of the great number of Candidates for the Attendantships in the Brit. Mus. it is always difficult for a person to obtain an appointment1  But the first step to be taken is that the man should obtain the promise from one of the Principal Trustees to be placed on his list.2 When that is done, and the man has a particular liking or qualifications for one of the Departments, he should inform the Principal Librarian or Keeper of it. In that case his appointment may be accelerated. I enclose a paper which will give some additional information. Please, note that the man must not be beyond 30 years of age.3

There is no vacancy in my Department, nor likely to be one for the next year or so.4 I have asked the Treasury through the Trustees for four additional Attendants, but met with a refusal.

If you think that the man would be better satisfied as to his prospects of an appointment in the Brit. Mus. by seeing me, I shall be very glad to explain to him all he wishes to learn.

With my best wishes to you, Mrs Darwin & all your family, and with my most sincere hope that the coming & succeeding years will be marked by signs of your undiminished activity | Believe me | Yours very truly | A Günther

Footnotes

See letter to Albert Günther, 19 December 1881. CD was trying to help Frederic William Surman to apply for a post at the British Museum.
At this time, the museum had fifty trustees; the three principal trustees were the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chancellor, and the speaker of the House of Commons (Thornbury and Walford [1878], 4: 495).
The enclosure has not been found.
Günther was keeper of the zoological department of the British Museum.

Bibliography

Thornbury, Walter and Walford, Edward. [1878.] Old and new London. 6 vols. London, Paris, and New York: Cassell, Petter & Galpin.

Summary

Explains how to go about getting an attendantship at the British Museum.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-13574
From
Albrecht Carl Ludwig Gotthilf (Albert) Günther
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
British Museum
Source of text
DAR 165: 258
Physical description
ALS 4pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13574,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13574.xml

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