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Darwin Correspondence Project

To Lydia Wendland   7 June [1875]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R. [Abinger Hall, Surrey.]

June 7th

D⁠⟨⁠ear⁠⟩⁠ Miss Wendland

I am very much obliged to you for your great kindness in having made for m⁠⟨⁠e⁠⟩⁠ so beautiful a present as the fender-stool.2 [1 line illeg] in our drawing room [2 lines illeg] [g]rateful to you for [g]oing [to] so much trouble. I will venture to send you soon a copy of a book, just published by me, viz Insectivorous Plants; but this book is in no way beautiful, & I am not so inhuman as to expect you to read it.—3

Pray believe me, Dear Miss Wendland | Yours faithfully and obliged | Charles Darwin

Footnotes

The year is established by the reference to Insectivorous plants (see n. 3, below).
Fender stools were long stools placed in front of the fender of a fireplace and often upholstered in needlework. Patterns in needlepoint were widely available (see, for example, Young Ladies’ Journal, 1 February 1875, supplement, pattern for fender stool).
Insectivorous plants was published on 2 July 1875 (see CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)).

Bibliography

Insectivorous plants. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.

Summary

Is very grateful for the gift of a fender-stool. Will send her a copy of Insectivorous plants.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-10012F
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Lydia Wendland
Sent from
Abinger Hall
Source of text
Sotheby’s (dealers) (13 December 2007)
Physical description
ALS inc

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10012F,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10012F.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 23

letter