To P. F. Perfil’eva 11 March 1874
Down. | Beckenham. Kent.
Mar 11. 1874.
Madam
I have the pleasure to enclose a photograph which you do me the honour to wish to possess.1
Bull-dogs in England are generally considered stupid; but you will be glad to hear that two breeders have assured me that your favourites are remarkably intelligent and faithful.2
I have the honour to remain your obedient Servant | Charles Darwin.
Footnotes
Perfil’eva had referred to the intelligence of bulldogs bred in Russia (see letter from P. F. Perfil’eva, 22 February 1874). The breeders to whom CD refers have not been identified. Selecting for gentleness and loyalty had become a priority among British bulldog breeders, who wished to maintain the breed following its sharp decline after the ban on bull-baiting in 1835 (Farman 1899, pp. 1–18); it was also held that the bulldog’s mental qualities might be highly cultivated (ibid., p. 9).
Summary
Sends photograph.
Comments on Mme P’s bulldogs.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-9353
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Perfil’eva, P. F.
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 147: 242
- Physical description
- 1p
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 9353,” accessed on 26 June 2019, http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/DCP-LETT-9353
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 22
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