FAQs
If you have a question which is not in this section, please contact us.
Where can I see original Darwin letters?
Darwin’s letters are in around 200 different institutions and private collections around the world. The largest single collection is in Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, UK. The second largest is in the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, US.
To find out where a particular letter is, look in the “Additional information” section in the righthand menu of the letter entry. The location of the original, where known, is listed under provenance
. Click on the repository name for more information.
Note that some letters are only known from copies, from publications, or even just from descriptions in sales catalogues.
The Darwin Correspondence Project does not control access to ANY original material. You must contact the holding institution directly. For letters in the Darwin Archive at Cambridge University Library, contact the curator of scientific manuscripts, Mr Adam Perkins.
How many volumes of the Correspondence will there be?
We expect that there will be 30 volumes, with each volume after volume 16 containing the letters from one year. Volume 16 was published in two parts as there were an exceptionally large number of letters in that year (1868).
When will the edition be complete?
It is anticipated that the edition will be completed in 2025.
Why are some letter transcripts unavailable?
The letters are being published chronologically and appear first in the print edition of the Correspondence. By agreement with the publisher, Cambridge University Press, they are then added to this website four years after print publication.
This means that letters from volume 15 (1867) were added to the website in 2009. Some letters from years up to 1867 may still be missing however, if they were discovered too late to be published in the correct volume. Such letters appear periodically in supplements. There are supplements in volumes 7, 13, and 18, and all the letters from the first two are online.
A number of selected letters are also published online ahead of print publication.
What information is available about the letters and correspondents?
For a detailed explanation of the content of the online resources on this site, go here.