To John Gould [after 1 December 1840]1
12 Upper Gower St
Thursday
My dear Sir
I have looked through the first number with great interest. I can truly say I never saw anything by half so beautiful.— I feel mortified at being compelled to return your volume but my circumstances now that I am a married man, will not really justify me in indulging myself in such a luxury as the possession of your unrivalled and magnificent work.—2 I cannot, of course, think of keeping this number & returning the two I possess (which are now at my father’s at Shrewsbury) as you so very kindly offered,—& I sincerely regret, that I am precluded from showing, in the small way of being a subscriber, my warm respect for your zeal and talents in the pursuit of Science.3
Believe me | My dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Gould, John. 1840–8. The birds of Australia. 7 vols. London: the author.
Sharpe, Richard Bowdler. 1893. An analytical index to the works of the late John Gould, F.R.S.. London: Henry Sotheran & Co.
Summary
Feels he cannot keep the gift of Gould’s "magnificent work" or take out a subscription now that he is a married man.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-578F
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- John Gould
- Sent from
- 12 Upper Gower St
- Source of text
- Profiles in History (dealers) (12 December 2012)
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 578F,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-578F.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24 (Supplement)