To William Bowman 16 May [1869–81]
Summary
"I shall not be in London on Monday, but I have written to my Brother to ask him to aid you"
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Bowman, 1st baronet |
Date: | 16 May [1869-81] |
Classmark: | George Houle Autographs (dealer) (Catalogue 61, March 1992) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13781 |
To Adolph Reuter 24 July [1869]
Summary
Thanks for facts on inheritance. May be used if CD corrects 3d ed. [2d ed.] of Variation.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Adolf Reuter |
Date: | 24 July [1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 147: 297 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13837 |
To ? 2 May [1869 or later]
Summary
"When a man has laboured hard in science & has proved that he is capable of original research, he may [some]times indulge in speculation [&] the public will indulge him. But even in this case it is a common error to speculate too largely, for speculation is far easier than observation or experiments . . ."
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 2 May [1869-82] |
Classmark: | Sotheby’s (dealers) (28 March 1983) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13866A |
To Richard Kippist 31 January [1869?]
Summary
"You are most perfectly welcome to Fragmenta [F. J. H. von Mueller Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae (1858–64)], & I shall be delighted if they are of the slightest use to you."
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Richard Kippist |
Date: | 31 Jan [1869?] |
Classmark: | Linnean Society of London (pasted in Mueller 1858–82, vol. 1) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3426A |
To Benjamin Dann Walsh 3 April [1869]
Summary
Glad BDW has proved his case on dimorphism of Cynips.
Interested in galls
and BDW’s Cicada articles [Proc. Entomol. Soc. Philadelphia (1864)].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Benjamin Dann Walsh |
Date: | 3 Apr [1869] |
Classmark: | Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (Walsh 17) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5482 |
From J. D. Hooker 14 [January] 1869
Summary
Oliver overlooked CD’s request about rutaceous flowers. Of precisely which points about the ovules does CD want illustrations?
Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 14 [Jan] 1869 |
Classmark: | DAR 48: A78, DAR 103: 3 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5729 |
To George Howard Darwin 6 February [1869]
Summary
John Lubbock regrets GHD did not take the Eton post. JL thinks scientific masters will soon occupy places as high and as profitable as classical masters.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | George Howard Darwin |
Date: | 6 Feb [1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 210.1: 4 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5843 |
To Charles Lyell [3 November 1869]
Summary
Takes "much to heart" solar evidence for short age of the earth. Cites evidence for "long endurance of our existing continents". Comments on process of denudation.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Date: | [3 Nov 1869] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.346) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5974 |
To ? 6 April [1869–71]
Summary
"My experiment was intended solely to show that colour reappeared, and I choose kinds which breed [true] to colour, as is certainly the case with [sports] and those which I tried . . .
I have recorded an undoubted case of wild rock Pigeons caught in Scotland having bred in confinement …"
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 6 Apr [1869-71] |
Classmark: | L’Autographe (dealers) (Catalogue 21) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6098A |
From W. W. Reade 28 June [1869]
Summary
Horned rams of Guinea sheep.
CD’s queries about expression are too difficult for him to answer.
Author: | William Winwood Reade |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 28 June [1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 86: A32–3 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6260 |
To Scientific Opinion [before 20 October 1869]
Summary
Replies to F. Delpino’s criticisms of Pangenesis [Sci. Opin. 2 (1869): 365–7, 391–3, 407–8], especially concerning the difficulty of explaining the regrowth of amputated organs.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Scientific Opinion |
Date: | [before 20 Oct 1869] |
Classmark: | Scientific Opinion 2 (1869): 426. |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6442 |
From John Lubbock [after 5 August 1869]
Summary
Visiting arrangements.
Author: | John Lubbock, 4th baronet and 1st Baron Avebury |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [after 5 Aug 1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 170: 70 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6519 |
From Francis Darwin [before 8 May 1869]
Summary
Reports what he must pay for university courses. Forgets what CD wants to know about vermiform appendage.
Author: | Francis Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [before 8 May 1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 274.1: 12 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6519F |
From E. A. Darwin [after 21 April 1869]
Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [after 21 Apr 1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 105: B65 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6521 |
From George Henslow [after 22 February 1869]
Summary
Sends information from a Kent sheep-breeder.
Author: | George Henslow |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [after 22 Feb 1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 166: 167 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6522 |
From James Paget [1869]
Summary
"I enclose a note from Lord Fitzwilliam about his horse with zebra-marks. The case seems as striking as I believed."
Author: | James Paget, 1st baronet |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [1869] |
Classmark: | Paget ed. 1901, p. 408 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6533 |
From Margaret Susan Vaughan Williams to Henrietta Emma Darwin [after 14 October 1869]
Summary
Describes expression of her baby when crying.
Author: | Margaret Susan Wedgwood; Margaret Susan Vaughan Williams |
Addressee: | Henrietta Emma Darwin; Henrietta Emma Litchfield |
Date: | [after 14 Oct 1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 180: 4 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6535 |
From E. A. Darwin 26 [November 1869 or later]
Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 26 [Nov 1869 or later] |
Classmark: | DAR 105: B66 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6539 |
To William Thierry Preyer [before 21 March 1869]
Summary
Replies to inquiries about his life and career.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Thierry (William) Preyer |
Date: | [before 21 Mar 1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 147: 262–5 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6540 |
From Vladimir Onofrievich Kovalevsky [January–March 1869]
Summary
Has written to Moscow about translations of Origin. Wishes to translate additions to the fifth English edition and print them as a supplement.
Pleased by CD’s high opinion of Alexander Kovalevsky.
Author: | Vladimir Onufrievich Kovalevsky (Владимир Онуфриевич Ковалевский) |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [Jan–Mar 1869] |
Classmark: | DAR 169: 54 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6541 |
Darwin, C. R. | (225) |
Hooker, J. D. | (17) |
Farrer, T. H. | (12) |
Cupples, George | (10) |
Tait, W. C. | (9) |
Darwin, C. R. | (289) |
Hooker, J. D. | (19) |
Cupples, George | (15) |
Carus, J. V. | (9) |
Tegetmeier, W. B. | (9) |
Darwin, C. R. | (514) |
Hooker, J. D. | (36) |
Cupples, George | (25) |
Farrer, T. H. | (18) |
Tait, W. C. | (17) |
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
Matches: 16 hits
- … At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition …
- … & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
- … Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
- … is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
- … tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
- … a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
- … data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
- … I d have been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
- … him however in his researches I would willingly do so’ ( letter from Robert Elliot to George …
- … with his noisy courting of the female in the garden ( letter from Frederick Smith, 8 October 1869 …
- … doubted her ability to recognise the different varieties ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 February …
- … weary of everlasting males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November …
- … for Descent . Researching emotion In 1869, Darwin still expected that Descent …
- … with much more of the same description’ ( enclosure to letter from Henry Maudsley, 20 May 1869 ). …
Darwin’s queries on expression
Summary
When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…
Matches: 21 hits
- … handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller, 22 February …
- … Correspondence about Darwin’s Questionnaire (click on the letter dates to see the individual letters …
- … Correspondent Letter date Location …
- … Africa)? ] mentioned in JPM Weale letter, but Bowker's answers not found …
- … Woolston, Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 20 May 1869 32 Queen Anne St. …
- … South Africa possibly included in letter from Mansel Weale …
- … Peradeniya, Ceylon enclosed in letter from G.H.K. Thwaites …
- … Gray, Asa 9 May [1869] [Alexandria, Egypt] …
- … Gray, Jane 9 May [1869] [Alexandria, Egypt] …
- … Lake Wellington, Australia letter to F.J.H. von Mueller nodding, …
- … Abbey Place, London, England letter to Emma Darwin baby expression …
- … Penmaenmawr, Conway, Wales letter to Emma Darwin infant daughter …
- … Maudsley, Henry 20 May 1869 32 Queen Anne St. …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 17 Jan 1869 Sierra Leone, Africa …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 28 June [1869] Sierra Leone, …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 26 Dec 1869 Sierra Leone, Africa …
- … Scott, John 2 July 1869 Royal Botanic Gardens, …
- … W., London, England enclosed in letter from W. W. Reade Hottentots …
- … England (about Australia) encloses letter from Austrialian friend, letter not …
- … forwarded by Smyth; Wilson sent letter to Ferdinand von Mueller Victoria Aborigines …
Perfect copper-plate hand: From Adolf Reuter, 30 May 1869
Summary
My favourite correspondent was chosen not because he is a brilliant conversationalist or a significant scientific thinker – but after a decade of reading a series of challenging hand writings, my favourite is the one who wrote in a perfect copper-plate…
A beginning, & that is something: To J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869]
Summary
Alison Pearn talks about a letter Darwin wrote to his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker after finishing corrections to the fifth edition of Origin of Species in 1869.
Matches: 1 hits
- … Alison Pearn talks about a letter Darwin wrote to his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker after …
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 26 hits
- … Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
- … silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
- … observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
- … to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
- … be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
- … Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
- … Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
- … expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. …
- … is making similar observations for him. Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. …
- … briefly on her ongoing observations of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. …
- … expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 - Treat, M. to Darwin, …
- … birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to …
- … of an angry pig and her niece’s ears. Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, …
- … that she make observations of her pet cats. Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 …
- … on her experiments with fly-catching Drosera . Letter 9426 - Story …
- … without the birds attacking the buds and flowers. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to …
- … and her father of plants and insects. Men: Letter 2221 - Blyth, E. to Darwin …
- … specimens and bird observations from Calcutta. Letter 3634 - Darwin to Gray, A., [1 …
- … “enthusiasm and indomitable patience”. Letter 4242 - Hildebrand, F. H. G. to Darwin …
- … contained in “a little treatise”. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 …
- … he has moved one or two of them into his bedroom. Letter 5602 - Sutton, S. to …
- … expression of emotion in chimpanzees and orangs. Letter 5705 - Haast, J. F. J. von …
- … to show in his museum in Canterbury, New Zealand. Letter 6453 - Langton, E. to …
- … to be attracted to dark spots on the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. …
- … the black letters in a marble tablet”. Letter 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July …
- … - Darwin to Gunther, A. C. L. G., [21 September 1869] Darwin asks Gunther for “a great …
Cross and self fertilisation
Summary
The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…
Matches: 8 hits
- … of self-fertility over subsequent generations. In June 1869, Müller remarked, on receiving a new …
- … sometimes depends’ ( From Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). By May 1870, Darwin reported that he was …
- … 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to Gray, remarking, ‘I am going on with my …
- … Müller ( To Fritz Müller, 28 November 1868 ). In March 1869, Müller reported results of …
- … pod were mutually sterile ( From Fritz Müller, 14 March 1869 ). ‘The case of the Abutilon sterile …
- … of this plant sent by Müller ( To Fritz Müller, 18 July [1869] ). Darwin sent specimens of plants …
- … [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly …
- … A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
Matches: 28 hits
- … Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
- … Tollet for proofreading and criticisms of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. …
- … her to read to check that she can understand it. Letter 7312 - Darwin to Darwin, F. …
- … from all but educated, typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E …
- … he seeks her help with tone and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 …
- … in order to minimise impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, …
- … he uses to avoid ownership of indelicate content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to …
- … so as not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
- … which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to …
- … Darwin’s female readership Letter 5391 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [6 February …
- … of the Manchester Ladies Literary Society . Letter 6551 - Becker, L. E . to …
- … the chapter on pangenesis, which is a revelation. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. …
- … Darwin assumes that 'A. B. Blackwell' is a man. Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to …
- … him to the psychology of Herbert Spencer. Letter 7624 - Bathoe, M . B. to Darwin …
- … his statements on a lack of reasoning in animals. Letter 7644 - Barnard, A. to …
- … during a visit to an asylum with her father. Letter 7651 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
- … on any comments that she feels might be suitable. Letter 7411 - Pfeiffer, E. J. to …
- … and beauty in the process of sexual selection. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
- … of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8778 - Forster, L. M . to Darwin, H. …
- … and the showing of teeth in Expression . Letter 10072 - Pape, C. to …
- … and hopes Darwin will complete her questionnaire. Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B. …
- … of questions which she hopes aren’t too silly. Letter 10415 - Darwin to Herrick, S. …
- … and is pleased that his work has interested her. Letter 10508 - Treat, M. to Darwin …
- … it nearly all night before she could lay it down. Letter 13547 - Tanner, M. H. …
- … involving worms which occurred in her garden. Letter 13650 Kennard, C. A. to Darwin …
- … Reading Variation Letter 5712 - Dallas, W. S. to Darwin, [8 December 1867] …
- … array of facts” contained in the work. Letter 5861 - Blyth, E. to Darwin, [11 …
- … Letter 6551 - Becker, L. E . to Darwin, [13 January 1869] Suffragist and …
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
Rewriting Origin - the later editions
Summary
For such an iconic work, the text of Origin was far from static. It was a living thing that Darwin continued to shape for the rest of his life, refining his ‘one long argument’ through a further five English editions. Many of his changes were made in…
Matches: 9 hits
- … standard of science’ ( to Charles Layton, 24 November [1869] ). From the 3 rd edition on …
- … published, 1866 5 th English edition published, 1869 6 th English edition …
- … buried Darwin under a blizzard of letters (see especially letter to Charles Lyell, 11 October …
- … getting permission to quote prominently from Kingsley’s letter in the revised summary: A …
- … sufficiently acknowledged earlier work. According to a letter to Asa Gray he had yet to start …
- … an animal’s colour and its immunity to poison (see letter from Jeffries Wyman, [ c . 15] …
- … on the fifth edition from Boxing Day 1868 until February 1869. Among the changes were stories about …
- … hitherto slurred it over. In his Christmas Day letter to his old friend Joseph Hooker, …
- … of population increase in elephants in response to a letter published in the Athenaeum by a …
Jane Gray
Summary
Jane Loring Gray, the daughter of a Boston lawyer, married the Harvard botanist Asa Gray in 1848 and evidence suggests that she took an active interest in the scientific pursuits of her husband and his friends. Although she is only known to have…
Matches: 9 hits
- … botanists such as George Bentham and Francis Boott. In one letter Bentham reported to her on the …
- … of ‘about 40 ladies and a few gentlemen’ (letter to Jane Gray from George Bentham, 10 March …
- … sending him observations about the behaviour of her dog (letter from J. L. Gray, 14 February 1870 …
- … of Darwin’s current research preoccupations. In their letter to Darwin from Egypt, Jane Gray wrote: …
- … The other women only the up & down wrinkles— (letter from Asa Gray and J. L. Gray, 8 …
- … their year long trip to Europe and North Africa in 1868 to 1869, the Grays visited Charles and Emma …
- … 1868, and visiting again on their return journey in August 1869. Although they never met again, the …
- … whilst I have won, hurrah, hurrah, 2795 games. (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ) …
- … boys and for the gift of pincushions sent back with them (letter from Emma Darwin to Jane Gray, 28 …
Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants
Summary
Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…
Matches: 28 hits
- … purposes’ (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1862] , and …
- … book (Down House MS) and Correspondence vol. 5, letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 April [1855] ). …
- … its sensitivity to touch (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December …
- … his employer’s hothouses over the previous two years. In a letter of 24 December [1862] ( …
- … he had had, he would ‘probably have made a mess of it’ (letter to G. H. Turnbull, [16? February …
- … adding ‘I shall keep to curious & experimental plants’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January …
- … of Westerham, with whom he had dealt over many years. In his letter to Hooker, Darwin mentioned that …
- … of the plants you want before going to Nurserymen’ (letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 January 1863] ) …
- … I shall avoid[,] of course I must not have from Kew’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 January [1863] ) …
- … him: ‘I long to stock it, just like a school-boy’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 15 February [1863] ). …
- … which I wished for, but which I did not like to ask for’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, [21 February …
- … in a particular mixture of moss, peat, and charcoal (see the letter from Henrietta Emma Darwin to …
- … of his plants, proffering further advice on cultivation (see letter from J. D. Hooker, [6 March …
- … sh d . not see such transcendent beauty in each leaf’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February …
- … to envision the tropics (see Correspondence vol. 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, [28 April 1831] …
- … of my old friends again’ ( Correspondence vol. 1, letter to Catherine Darwin, May–June [1832] …
- … of the tropics ( Correspondence vol. 3, letter to Charles Lyell, 8 October [1845] ). …
- … to identify the families to which they belonged. In his letter to Hooker of 5 March [1863] , he …
- … for experiments, which seem to me really worth trial’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 February [1863] …
- … [that is, cool hothouse]’ ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26[–7] March 1864 …
- … comprised two halves kept at different temperatures, and in 1869 Darwin told the botanist William …
- … to the greenhouses ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, [25 January 1864] ). …
- … out’ on that list the plants he could not supply (see letter from J. D. Hooker, [16 February 1863] …
- … ‘Gloxinia droopy & upright’ both in this list and in his letter to J. D. Hooker, 15 February …
- … Treviranus 1863a, which he received in mid-February (see letter from L. C. Treviranus, 12 February …
- … that Darwin made of the plants sent to him by Hooker (see letter to J. D. Hooker, 5 March [1863] …
- … as having been sent to Darwin from Kew. Darwin said in the letter to Hooker of 5 March [1863] …
- … Treviranus and to Treviranus 1863a, p. 10. See also letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] …
3.18 Elliott and Fry photos, c.1869-1871
Summary
< Back to Introduction The leading photographic firm of Elliott and Fry seems to have portrayed Darwin at Down House on several occasions. In November 1869 Darwin told A. B. Meyer, who wanted photographs of both him and Wallace for a German…
Matches: 9 hits
- … Darwin at Down House on several occasions. In November 1869 Darwin told A. B. Meyer, who wanted …
- … down here on purpose’. Payments to the firm on 25 July 1869 and 5 April 1870 in Darwin’s banking …
- … widely disseminated images of Darwin were taken in summer 1869, and which in summer 1871: the …
- … were dated by Darwin’s daughter Henrietta on the backs to 1869. By 1871-2 some of Elliott and Fry’s …
- … it ‘abt. 1870’, then crossed this date out in favour of 1869 – the date which John van Wyhe assigns …
- … some of the Elliott and Fry group as having been taken in 1869 and 1871, but dates others (still …
- … to this source. It is significant that none of these 1869–71 Elliott and Fry photographs were …
- … as belonging to groups of photographs taken in summer 1869 and summer 1871, possible also in 1874. …
- … letters from Darwin to A.B. Meyer, 27 November [1869], (DCP-LETT-7014), and to Wallace, 5 December …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 26 hits
- … ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
- … fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
- … François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 …
- … quite untirable & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January …
- … probably intending to test its effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). …
- … we know about the life of any one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He …
- … of seeing the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). …
- … find stooping over the microscope affects my heart’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). …
- … sooner or later write differently about evolution’ ( letter to John Murray, 21 January 1882 ). The …
- … leaves into their burrows ( Correspondence vol. 29, letter from J. F. Simpson, 8 November 1881 …
- … on the summit, whence it rolls down the sides’ ( letter from J. F. Simpson, 7 January 1882 ). The …
- … light on it, which would have pleased me greatly’ ( letter from J. H. Gilbert, 9 January 1882, …
- … annelid seemed to have rather the best of the fight’ ( letter from G. F. Crawte, 11 March 1882 ). …
- … by the American educator Emily Talbot (Talbot ed. 1882). His letter to Talbot written the previous …
- … by the flippant witlings of the newspaper press’ ( letter from A. T. Rice, 4 February 1882 ). Rice …
- … men, and their role as providers for the family. In his letter, he conceded that there was ‘some …
- … of our homes, would in this case greatly suffer’ ( letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). …
- … she be fairly judged, intellectually his inferior, please ( letter from C. A. Kennard, 28 January …
- … he has allied himself to so dreadful a man, as Huxley’ ( letter to John Collier, 16 February 1882 …
- … Would my actions be the same without my consciousness?’ ( letter from John Collier, 22 February …
- … a solid scientific foundation cannot be overestimated’ ( letter to William Jenner, 20 March [1882] …
- … he attracted many admirers in German-speaking countries. In 1869, his birthday was celebrated by an …
- … vol. 17, letter from F. M. Malven, 12 February [1869] ). An extract from Darwin’s reply to Malven …
- … with his’ ( letter to F. M. Malven, [after 12 February 1869] ). Accompanying this extract was the …
- … some of whom drew substantially on his theory. In 1869, Hermann Müller (brother to Fritz) sent …
- … theory to flowers and flower-visiting insects; H. Müller 1869)). Darwin was full of admiration and …
Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution
Summary
The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’. Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…
Matches: 29 hits
- … shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
- … anything which has happened to me for some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ) …
- … corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ) …
- … who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
- … abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
- … thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] …
- … how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
- … in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
- … patients, but it did not confirm Duchenne’s findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March …
- … muscle’, he complained, ‘is the bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). …
- … to their belief that all demons and spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870 …
- … . . Could you make it scream without hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] …
- … or crying badly; but I fear he will not succeed’ ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 8 June [1870] …
- … Lucy Wedgwood, who sent a sketch of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). …
- … is the inclination to finish my note on this subject’ ( letter from F. C. Donders, 17 May 1870 ). …
- … the previous year (see Correspondence vol. 17, letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). His …
- … (in retrograde direction) naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). …
- … towards each other, though in one sense rivals’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 20 April [1870] ). …
- … version of the theory of descent by natural selection in a letter to Darwin, prompting much anxiety …
- … But who is to criticise them? No one but yourself’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 20 May 1870 ). …
- … me to be able to say that I never write reviews’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, [22 May 1870] ). …
- … comparative anatomist through his work on primates. In July 1869, Mivart published the first of a …
- … design. Darwin commented on Mivart’s essay in a letter to William Henry Flower: ‘I am glad …
- … time wd be wasted if I once began to answer objectors’ ( letter to W. H. Flower, 25 March [1870] ) …
- … laborious & valuable labours on the Primates’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 April [1870] ). …
- … Ape than such an Ape differs from a lump of granite’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 22 April 1870 …
- … his “end” whatever may have been his “origin” ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 25 April 1870 ). In …
- … by you in this manner than praised by many others’ ( letter to Armand de Quatrefages, 28 May [1870 …
- … us which are stronger than the causes of discord’ ( letter from Armand de Quatrefages, 30 March …
Photograph album of Dutch admirers
Summary
Darwin received the photograph album for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from his scientific admirers in the Netherlands. He wrote to the Dutch zoologist Pieter Harting, An account of your countrymen’s generous sympathy in having sent me on my…
Matches: 10 hits
- … the present has given me & my family lasting pleasure. ( Letter to Pieter Harting, 19 March …
- … Society) was chosen to co-ordinate the initiative, and a letter was circulated to potential …
- … have also fallen on fertile soil in the Netherlands. ( Letter from A. A. van Bemmelen and H. J. …
- … of Natural Filosofy ’. Darwin welcomed the letter, replying: It is the highest …
- … to interest other students, especially the younger ones. ( Letter to J. C. Costerus and N. D. …
- … sent him a photograph of the two of them with Darwin’s letter . Another young man, Theodor Wilhelm …
- … sees them for some are about 2 feet across!— ( Letter from C. W. Thomson, 30 June 1877 ) …
- … edition which has been any where published ( Letter to Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen, …
- … work on human expression. Donders visited Darwin in 1869 , and a year later Darwin consoled him …
- … Your loss is irreparable, & I feel deeply for you. ( Letter to F. C. Donders, 19 May 1870 ) …
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 24 hits
- … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … that Mr Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
- … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
- … Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). …
- … edition, published in 1842 ( Correspondence vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 …
- … Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January …
- … to take so sweetly all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March …
- … sent an apology for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); …
- … numbers and sex ratios among the Pitcairn islanders ( letter from William Dealtry, 16 January 1874 …
- … will say that I have pounded the enemy into a jelly’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). …
- … by none but anatomists; and never mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). …
- … the return on subsequent print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 …
- … by the conciseness & clearness of your thought’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 20 April 1874 ). …
- … generous Darwin by his previous anonymous attacks ([Mivart] 1869; 1871c). In his review, Mivart …
- … legal action over the ‘scurrilous libel’ on his son ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [27 July 1874] ). …
- … false, scurrilous accusation of [a] lying scoundrel’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ). …
- … as father and son agonised over the wording of both the letter to the editor and the letter to …
- … relationship with Murray on the outcome ( enclosure to letter from G. H. Darwin, 6 [August] 1874 ) …
- … is refused I’m really no worse off than if I had sent my letter direct to the Editor & it had …
Science: A Man’s World?
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…
Matches: 16 hits
- … feminine world of family, home and sociability. Letter 489 - Darwin to Wedgwood, E., …
- … an hour “with poor Mrs. Lyell sitting by”. Letter 3715 - Claparède, J. L. R. A. E. to …
- … whose attractions are not those of her sex”. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 …
- … her own steam and is a “first rate critic”. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, …
- … ornaments in the making of feminine works”. Letter 4441 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [30 …
- … the young, especially ladies, to study nature. Letter 4940 - Cresy, E. to Darwin, E., …
- … Anderson is “neither masculine nor pedantic”. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. B., …
- … Theoriae Functionum Ellipticarum , (1829). Letter 7329 - Murray, J. to Darwin, [28 …
- … to prick up what little is left of them ears”. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
- … almost out of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8079 - Norton, S. R. to Darwin, [20 …
- … but has not read the pamphlet herself. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, [16 May …
- … narrative so not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
- … which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 10746 – Darwin to Dicey, E. M., …
- … inability to cope well with the sight of blood. Letter 12389 - Johnson, M. to Darwin, …
- … to have entered the cave “since the flood”. Letter 13414 - Darwin to Harrison, L., [18 …
- … and possess strong powers of patience. Letter 13607 – Darwin to Kennard, C. A., [9 …
Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 23 hits
- … that he was ‘unwell & must write briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a …
- … persevered with his work on Variation until 20 July, his letter-writing dwindled considerably. The …
- … from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
- … ‘I declare I never in my life read anything grander’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 26 [February 1863] …
- … than Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
- … from animals like the woolly mammoth and cave bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 …
- … leap from that of inferior animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … out that species were not separately created’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). Public …
- … book he wished his one-time mentor had not said a word ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February …
- … I respect you, as my old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … against stronger statements regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). …
- … thinking, while Huxley’s book would scare them off ( see letter from Asa Gray, 20 April 1863 ). In …
- … change of species by descent put him ‘into despair’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 11 May [1863] ). In the …
- … disaffected towards Lyell and his book. In a February letter to the Athenæum , a weekly review of …
- … find great difficulty in answering Owen unaided ’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] …
- … of so much of Lyell’s book being written by others’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] …
- … is wretched to see men fighting so for a little fame’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1863] ). …
- … overt act, and I shall watch for a fitting opportunity’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] …
- … God demented Owen, as a punishment for his crimes… ?’ ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January [1863] …
- … Darwin’, a transitional form between reptiles and birds ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January …
- … a significant gap had been filled in the fossil record ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] January …
- … continued to capture his and others’ attention ( see letter to J. D. Dana, 20 February [1863] , …
- … or origin of species’, Darwin considered writing a letter to the Athenæum in response ( letter …
John Murray
Summary
Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin) was published on 22 November 1859. The publisher was John Murray, who specialised in non-fiction, particularly politics, travel and science, and had published…
Matches: 20 hits
- … end of 1845, Darwin was not happy with Colburn’s terms ( Letter 856 ). Instead he asked his friend …
- … John Murray, to open negotiations with his own publisher ( Letter 824 ). Lyell’s talk with Murray …
- … have transacted the business with me’ (27 August [1845] Letter 908 ). Thus began the business …
- … copies some pages in Darwin’s chapter were transposed ( Letter 1244 ). Darwin was anxious lest an …
- … & make the poor workman some present’ (12 June [1849] Letter 1245 ). Darwin’s next …
- … his ‘big species book’; on 18 June 1858, he received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace with the …
- … asked Lyell to act as his intermediary with John Murray ( Letter 2437 ), who, without even reading …
- … not repent of having undertaken it’ (15 October [1859] Letter 2506 ). Murray decided on a retail …
- … proud at the appearance of my child’ ([3 November 1859] Letter 2514 ). In the event, all Murray’s …
- … – and a second edition was immediately called for ( Letter 2549 ). In the end Murray paid Darwin …
- … (Variation ), but work progressed slowly ( Letter 3078 ); meanwhile in 1862 Murray published On …
- … Murray only offered Darwin half profits for this title ( Letter 3261 ); it was never a best-seller …
- … ‘I fear it can never pay’ (3 January [1867] Letter 5346 ). In the end Murray decided to print …
- … to Brazil, the beginning of a life-long correspondence ( Letter 4881 ). Subsequently Darwin …
- … the risk himself. Murray suggested printing 750 copies ( Letter 6597 ), but Darwin decided on 1000 …
- … fail, I think, to be much read’ (28 September [1870] Letter 7329 ). Murray decided to print 2500 …
- … hope to Heaven book will sell well’ (12 January [1871] Letter 7438 ). A second printing was …
- … America, of St George Mivart‘s Genesis of species ( Letter 7907 ) ; this was Darwin’s …
- … By November of that year, fourteen copies had been sold ( Letter 8044 ). Meanwhile, Darwin was …
- … Darwin chose to print the photographic illustrations ( Letter 7773 ), proved to be expensive ( …
Race, Civilization, and Progress
Summary
Darwin's first reflections on human progress were prompted by his experiences in the slave-owning colony of Brazil, and by his encounters with the Yahgan peoples of Tierra del Fuego. Harsh conditions, privation, poor climate, bondage and servitude,…
Matches: 15 hits
- … he had witnessed man in his most "primitive wildness" ( letter to Henslow, 11 April 1833 …
- … of botany at Cambridge, John Stevens Henslow. Letter 204 : Darwin to Henslow, J. S., …
- … 1833 which took effect in the following year. Letter 206 : Darwin to Darwin, E. C., 22 …
- … of the polygenist theory of human descent. Letter 4933 : Farrar, F. W. to Darwin, …
- … about the state of civilization of the natives. Letter 5617 , Darwin to Weale, J. P. M …
- … wonderful fact in the progress of civilization" Letter 5722 , Weale, J. P. M. to …
- … of Species , Darwin discussed his views on progress in a letter to Charles Lyell, insisting that …
- … of life" ( Origin , 6 th ed, p. 98). Letter 2503 : Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, C …
- … not profit it, there would be no advance.— " Letter 6728 : from Charles Lyell, 5 …
- … but may guide the forces & laws of Nature." Letter 6866 : From Federico Delpino …
- … in this inner principle, inborn in all things." Letter 8658 : to Alpheus Hyatt, 4 …
- … Wallace, and the philosopher William Graham. Letter 2503 : Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, C., …
- … the less intellectual races being exterminated." Letter 3439 : Darwin to Kingsley, …
- … race, viewed as a unit, will have risen in rank." Letter 4510 : Darwin to Wallace, …
- … entirely on intellectual & moral qualities. Letter 13230 : Darwin to Graham, …