From John Murray 6 February [1868]1
50, Albemarle St. | W.
Feby 6—
My Dear Sir
The curiosity of the Public about your Book, provoked & stimulated as it appears, by the delay, has risen to such a point that the whole edition, including 50 to yourself 50 to the continent, 200 to Scotland & Ireland—1500 copies is exhausted & the demand still continues so that I must send it to press without a day’s delay!2
This state of affairs prevents the need for having recourse to our preliminary conditions as to delaying the authors payment.
The expences of producing these two volumes have been as you are aware unusually high, but taking into account corrections Illustrations & Index they will still produce a sum of wch the two thirds produce amount to £300.—for wch amount, I have the pleasure to enclose my Note of Hand at 3 Months3
I think I may venture on a Second Edition of 1250 Copies, the cost of producing wch, will of course be much less. If you approve of this I beg you to send me any corrections wch may have occurred to you as necessary—4
I am very anxious that the present demand shd have as little cheque as possible. Clowes will undertake to print verbatim without obliging you to revise proofs & will set to work on both volumes at once.5
I was delighted to observe the great success of your son at Cambridge & cannot close this note without offering my congratulations6
I am My Dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | John Murray
Mess Clowes promise me to get the book out in a fortnight, putting 15 men upon each volume!
Chas Darwin Esq
CD annotations7
Footnotes
Bibliography
Cambridge University calendar: The Cambridge University calendar. Cambridge: W. Page [and others]. 1796–1950.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Freeman, Richard Broke. 1977. The works of Charles Darwin: an annotated bibliographical handlist. 2d edition. Folkestone, Kent: William Dawson & Sons. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, Shoe String Press.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Advance sale of Variation has exhausted the 1500 copies printed. Murray sends note for £300 author’s payment. Wants to print 1250 more immediately.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-5844
- From
- John Murray
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- London, Albemarle St, 50
- Source of text
- DAR 171: 354
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5844,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5844.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 16