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Darwin Correspondence Project

From Charles Layton   25 November 1869

16 Little Britain (City)

Novr 25/69

Charles Darwin Esq

Dear Sir

Your favour of yesterday is received—1 If the type is still standing of new Editn Origin Species, Messrs Appletons would be glad if you would supply them with a set of Stereotype Plates, there would be such a great saving in cost, as composition is the heaviest item in making books, and but for this your later Editions would have been republished in America—2

The demand in America for books of this class is not nearly so great as in England and the Continent of Europe, but Messrs Appletons wish now to reproduce your book, and pay copyright on all copies sold and of course would pay for Stereotype Plates, but if it is impossible to have plates I have no doubt they will incur the extra expense and have it set up in New York, only in that case perhaps you could let them have a copy in advance to print from as I was told yesterday in Paternoster Row the new Editn was not yet ready—3

With regard to the new book whenever it is ready I suppose you would be able to let them have Stereo Plates, as Casts could be taken as the book is composed in London, and I shall be glad, if there is yet time to have the same done with New Editn Origin of Species—4

Besides not having the same large number of buyers for good Scientific Books in America as here, the New York Publishers cannot get the same high prices as Mr Murray and Messrs Longmans in London

Yours Respectfully | Charles Layton | Agent D. Appleton & Co

Footnotes

John Murray did not use stereotype plates in publishing any editions of Origin (see Freeman 1977). On the typesetting of the first five English editions of Origin, see Shillingsburg 2007.
Origin 5th ed. was published in the week of 22 June 1869; see letter from R. F. Cooke, 22 June 1869. Layton refers to Paternoster Row, Cheapside, London, where several publishers and booksellers (but not Murray, who was in Albemarle Street) had premises.
Layton refers to Descent and to the fifth edition of Origin.

Bibliography

Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.

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 5th ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 5th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1869.

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.

Shillingsburg, Peter L. 2007. The first five English editions of Charles Darwin’s On the origin of species. Variants 5: 221–48.

Summary

Asks CD to have stereotype plates made of new edition of Origin [5th English], if type still standing, though Appleton will reset type if necessary. Warns there is smaller audience in the U. S. for "good scientific books".

Appleton would also like plates made of new book [Descent] when possible.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-7009
From
Charles James (Charles) Layton; D. Appleton & Co
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
London, Little Britain, 16
Source of text
DAR 159: 84
Physical description
ALS 3pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7009,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7009.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 17

letter