From Hermann Müller 7 August 1875
Summary
Thanks for Insectivorous plants.
Believes Lepidoptera are of greater importance as fertilisers in alpine regions than in lowlands.
The famous stone pits of Ohningen are for sale.
Author: | Heinrich Ludwig Hermann (Hermann) Müller |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 7 Aug 1875 |
Classmark: | DAR 171: 304 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10110 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … pp. 210–12; 10 February 1876, pp. 289–92; 22 June 1876, pp. 173–5; 8 February 1877, pp. …
- … 317–19; 29 March 1877, pp. …
- … 473–5; 11 October 1877, pp. 507–9. Müller, Hermann. 1881a. Alpenblumen, ihre Befruchtung …
- … in Nature between July 1873 and October 1877 ( H. Müller 1873–7 ). The articles on alpine …
To John Price 18 September [1875–9]
Summary
Working on plant physiology; has not strength to discuss difficult subject with anyone.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Price |
Date: | 18 Sept [1875-9] |
Classmark: | DAR 147: 277 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13835 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin Down 18 Sept 1875 18 Sept 1876 18 Sept 1877 18 Sept 1878 18 Sept 1879 John Price …
To ? 17 February [1875–8]
Summary
Tells correspondent how to locate Michael Faraday’s widow [Sarah Barnard].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 17 Feb [1875-8] |
Classmark: | Houghton Library, Harvard University (Autograph File, D) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9859 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … D) Charles Robert Darwin Down 17 Feb 1875 17 Feb 1876 17 Feb 1877 17 Feb 1878 Unidentified …
To J. V. Carus 7 February 1875
Summary
Thanks JVC for errata [in Descent, 2d ed.].
Discusses work in progress and publication plans.
Will be pleased to receive concluding volume of JVC’s Zoologie [see 8531].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Julius Victor Carus |
Date: | 7 Feb 1875 |
Classmark: | Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Slg. Darmstaedter Lc 1859: Darwin, Charles, Bl. 131–132) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9844 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … edition, revised. London: John Murray. 1877. ‘Three forms of Lythrum salicaria ’: On the …
- … generations. In Forms of flowers , published in 1877, CD revised some of the material from …
- … plants’ . Orchids 2d ed. was published in 1877; it contained many revisions based on new …
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. ‘Illegitimate offspring of dimorphic and …
To G. C. Robertson 19 February [1875]
Summary
The plan of the new journal [Mind] seems excellent. CD regrets that he has so much work to do in natural history that it is improbable he can be a contributor.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | George Croom Robertson |
Date: | 19 Feb [1875] |
Classmark: | UCL Library Services, Special Collections (Croom Robertson: MS ADD 88/9–15/11) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9863 |
To Mr S. 11 September [1875–81]
Summary
Sends a photograph.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Johannes Japetus Smith (Japetus) Steenstrup |
Date: | 11 Sept [1875-81] |
Classmark: | Kantonsbibliothek Vadiana (VadSlg NL 202: 33: 27q) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9632F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Down 11 Sept 1875 11 Sept 1876 11 Sept 1877 11 Sept 1878 11 Sept 1879 11 Sept 1880 11 Sept …
To Edward Frankland 29 May [1875–81]
Summary
Hearty thanks for the two bottles of pure water.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Edward Frankland |
Date: | 29 May [1875-81] |
Classmark: | The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10001A |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin Down 29 May 1875 29 May 1876 29 May 1877 29 May 1878 29 May 1879 29 May 1880 29 May …
To T. M. Story-Maskelyne 27 August [1875–81]
Summary
Explains that the plant is not consuming the flies, but that they die becasue they get stuck in the flowers when fertilising them.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Thereza Mary Story-Maskelyne |
Date: | 27 Aug [1875-81] |
Classmark: | The British Library (Add MS 88953/4) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10136F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin Down 27 Aug 1875 27 Aug 1876 27 Aug 1877 27 Aug 1878 27 Aug 1879 27 Aug 1880 27 Aug …
To ? 30 June [1875–81]
Summary
Asks for copy of [unspecified] essay, but will not answer it.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 30 June [1875-81] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.496) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10552 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Down 30 June 1875 30 June 1876 30 June 1877 30 June 1878 30 June 1879 30 June 1880 30 June …
To Pieter Harting 18 July [1875–81]
Summary
Sends photographs.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Pieter Harting |
Date: | 18 July [1875-81] |
Classmark: | Leiden University Libraries (BPL 1938) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11062 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Down 18 July 1875 18 July 1876 18 July 1877 18 July 1878 18 July 1879 18 July 1880 Pieter …
To W. C. Marshall 9 June [1875–80]
Summary
Asks questions about earthworms.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Cecil (Bill) Marshall |
Date: | 9 June [1875-80] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11549 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Down 9 June [1875] 9 June [1876] 9 June [1877] 9 June [1878] 9 June [1879] 9 June [1880] …
To ? 3 February [1875–82]
Summary
Asks that enclosed letter be posted for him.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 3 Feb [1875-82] |
Classmark: | DAR 249: 124 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13889B |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin Down 3 Feb 1875 3 Feb 1876 3 Feb 1877 3 Feb 1878 3 Feb 1879 3 Feb 1880 3 Feb 1881 3 …
To John Murray 23 January [1875–82]
Summary
Thanks for two German letters about translations, which he has answered. The enclosed one contains a proposal for CD’s correspondent to bring out a translation of a very successful German book, and must be answered by the correspondent.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Murray |
Date: | 23 Jan [1875-82] |
Classmark: | Swann Auction Galleries (dealers) (14 September 1993) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9828F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin Down 23 Jan 1875 23 Jan 1876 23 Jan 1877 23 Jan 1878 23 Jan 1879 23 Jan 1880 23 Jan …
To ? 23 January [1875–82]
Summary
Turns down an offer to undertake a German translation of one of his works.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 23 Jan [1875-81] |
Classmark: | Sotheby’s (dealers) (11 July 2017) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9828G |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin Down 23 Jan 1875 23 Jan 1876 23 Jan 1877 23 Jan 1878 23 Jan 1879 23 Jan 1880 23 Jan …
To ? 8 April [1875–82]
Summary
Explains that there is no need for the addressee to apologise.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 8 Apr [1875-82] |
Classmark: | Jane da Mosto (private collection) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9917F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin Down 8 Apr 1875 8 Apr 1876 8 Apr 1877 8 Apr 1878 8 Apr 1879 8 Apr 1880 8 Apr 1881 8 …
To ? 22 June [1875–81]
Summary
Sends signed photo of himself.
Has published only one paper in Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society, "Parallel roads of Glen Roy" [Collected papers 1: 87–137]. His conclusions have proved erroneous.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 22 June [1875-81] |
Classmark: | Wellcome Collection (MS.7781/1–32 item 15) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10544 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Down 22 June 1875 22 June 1876 22 June 1877 22 June 1878 22 June 1879 22 June 1880 22 June …
To R. F. Cooke 23 October [1875]
Summary
Sends list for complimentary copies and suggests various arrangements related to publication of Climbing plants.
Thinks a revised edition of Orchids is needed.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Robert Francis Cooke; John Murray |
Date: | 23 Oct [1875] |
Classmark: | National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms. 42152 ff. 324–5) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10216 |
To J. V. Carus 14 October [1875]
Summary
Sends sheets of Climbing plants [2d ed.], which will be published in November. Suggests JVC have someone translate it under his supervision,
since he has not yet finished Insectivorous plants.
Admires the appearance of [German ed. of] Journal of researches.
Discusses other publication prospects.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Julius Victor Carus |
Date: | 14 Oct [1875] |
Classmark: | Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Slg. Darmstaedter Lc 1859: Darwin, Charles, Bl. 135–136) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10198 |
From Ernst Haeckel 6 June 1875
Summary
Comments on Fritz Schultze, Kant und Darwin [1875].
Describes recent activities.
Author: | Ernst Philipp August (Ernst) Haeckel |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 6 June 1875 |
Classmark: | DAR 166: 64 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10012 |
To J. V. Carus 25 December 1875
Summary
Thanks for errata in Insectivorous plants.
Sends spare copies of his papers, but thinks several are not worth publishing.
Has only one copy, which he will lend JVC, of the best one, on "Erratic boulders of South America" [Collected papers 1: 145–63].
Has not sent "Parallel roads of Glen Roy" [Collected papers 1: 87–137], as he is sure he was wrong.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Julius Victor Carus |
Date: | 25 Dec 1875 |
Classmark: | Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Slg. Darmstaedter Lc 1859: Darwin, Charles, Bl. 137–138) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10323 |
letter | (47) |
Darwin, C. R. | (28) |
Cooke, R. F. | (2) |
Haeckel, Ernst | (2) |
John Murray | (2) |
Romanes, G. J. | (2) |
Darwin, C. R. | (47) |
Unidentified | (7) |
Carus, J. V. | (5) |
Cooke, R. F. | (4) |
John Murray | (4) |
Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours
Summary
Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…
Matches: 28 hits
- … , Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and …
- … from a family that the Darwins had befriended. The year 1877 was more than usually full of honours. …
- … of a very heavy shower’, William wrote on 24 August 1877 . ‘The leaves were not at all depressed; …
- … gardeners ( letter from W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August 1877 ). At Down House, Darwin and …
- … a delicate twig’ ( letter to R. I. Lynch, 14 September 1877 ). Research on movement would continue …
- … of some Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). Francis’s paper eventually appeared …
- … wrote to the editor, George Croom Robertson, on 27 April 1877 , ‘I hope that you will be so good …
- … had written to the editor Ernst Ludwig Krause on 30 June 1877 , ‘I have been much interested by …
- … the German debate (letters to W. E. Gladstone, 2 October 1877 and 25 October [1877] ). …
- … and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October 1877 ). Gifts of German and Dutch …
- … Darwin and Ernst Haeckel). Writing to Darwin on 11 March 1877 , Krause declared the journal ‘an …
- … the director, Adriaan Anthoni van Bemmelen, on 12 February 1877 : ‘I suppose that every worker at …
- … of his 70th year. Darwin was in fact 68 on 12 February 1877. Distinguished guests and …
- … & smooth as butter’ ( letter to C. E. Norton, 16 March 1877 ). Hooker was asked repeatedly by …
- … & me to dejeuner!!!’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 June 1877 ). Darwin was staying in …
- … centuries to come’ ( letter from C. C. Graham, 30 January 1877 ). Graham then gave a lengthy …
- … man and of societies’ ( letter from Marcellin de Bonnal, [1877] ). A similar complaint came from …
- … by a duke!’ ( letter to J. M. Rodwell, 3 June 1877 ). Back home, he learned from his brother that …
- … order of the day’ ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 27 January [1877] ). Carlyle’s remarks were …
- … . In a letter from an unknown correspondent on 13 June 1877 , he was criticised for having quoted …
- … monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October 1877 ). An American banker, William Burrows …
- … back our civilization’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 17 May 1877 ). Bowles proposed that such …
- … of humanity beneath’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 18 May 1877 ). More transitional human …
- … inflexible tails ( letter from Arthur Mellersh, 1 January 1877 ). The American physician Jesse …
- … (Trollope 1867; letter to G. J. Romanes, [1 and 2 December 1877] ). Dispute and …
- … George and Francis. He wrote to Francis on 24 September 1877 about his forthcoming work, Life …
- … value’, he confessed in a letter of 25 November 1877 that the book had ‘resolved itself into a …
- … physical’ ( letter from W. M. Moorsom, 10 September 1877 ). Darwin was doubtful of the elephant …

Photograph album of German and Austrian scientists
Summary
The album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil Rade, and contained 165 portraits of German and Austrian scientists. The work was lavishly produced and bound in blue velvet with metal embossing. Its ornate…
Matches: 7 hits
- … album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil Rade …
- … have ever received ( Letter to Ernst Haeckel, 16 February 1877 ) …
- … the start of his 70th year, but Darwin was only 68 in 1877. Despite this oversight, the album …
- … world.— ( Letter from Leonard Blomefield, 12 March 1877 ) Familiar faces Ernst …
- … with the final album. He wrote to Darwin on 9 February 1877 : ‘what will perhaps astonish you is …
- … worth to give you ( Letter from J. V. Carus, 22 March 1877 ) The professor of …
- … scientific work. ( Letter from C. G. Semper, 26 April 1877 ) Carl Kraus, an …

1877 letters now online
Summary
Flowers, bloom, a son married . . . and a suspended monkey in Cambridge at Darwin's honorary LLD ceremony. The transcripts and footnotes of over 600 letters written to and from Darwin in 1877 are now online. Read more about Darwin's life in 1877…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of over 600 letters written to and from Darwin in 1877 are now online. Read more about Darwin& …

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: 5 hits
- … the photograph album for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from his scientific admirers in the …
- … lasting pleasure. ( Letter to Pieter Harting, 19 March 1877 ) Harting had also written …
- … it states his ‘69th Birthday’, when in fact he was 68 in 1877. It was arranged in alphabetical order …
- … from A. A. van Bemmelen and H. J. Veth, 6 February 1877 ) Dutch correspondents …
- … ( Letter from C. W. Thomson, 30 June 1877 ) Much earlier, in 1861, Tiberius Cornelis …
German and Dutch photograph albums
Summary
Darwin Day 2018: To celebrate Darwin's 209th birthday, we present two lavishly produced albums of portrait photographs which Darwin received from continental admirers 141 years ago. These unusual gifts from Germany and the Netherlands are made…

Capturing Darwin’s voice: audio of selected letters
Summary
On a sunny Wednesday in June 2011 in a makeshift recording studio somewhere in Cambridge, we were very pleased to welcome Terry Molloy back to the Darwin Correspondence Project for a special recording session. Terry, known for his portrayal of Davros in Dr…
Matches: 1 hits
- … tiredness of the later years (e.g. letter to E.M. Dicey, [1877] ). Working …

Language: key letters
Summary
How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 11074: Sayce, A. H. to Darwin, C. R., 27 July 1877 Darwin’s study of human nature …

Have you read the one about....
Summary
... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but all letters you can read here.
Matches: 1 hits
- … ... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some …

Charles Harrison Blackley
Summary
You may not have heard of Charles Harrison Blackley (1820–1900), but if you are one of the 15 million people in the UK who suffer from hay fever, you are indebted to him. For it was he who identified pollen as the cause of the allergy. Darwin was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … grains by a dilution method. In his letter of 9 March 1877 , Darwin wrote: ‘Your calculation of …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
List of people appearing in the photograph album Darwin received from scientific admirers in the Netherlands for his birthday on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Hester Loeff for providing this list and for permission to make her research available.…
Darwin in public and private
Summary
Extracts from Darwin's published works, in particular Descent of man, and selected letters, explore Darwin's views on the operation of sexual selection in humans, and both his publicly and privately expressed views on its practical implications…

Exercise: Caricatures of Science
Summary
Caricatures provide intriguing insights into both ideals and transgressions of gender. The following six images show caricatured representations of nineteenth-century men and women of science. They provide insight into the boundaries of what was deemed …
Matches: 1 hits
- … Lydia Becker (1877) Caricature of Lydia Becker from …

Floral Dimorphism
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Floral studies In 1877 Darwin published a book that included a series of smaller studies on botanical subjects. Titled The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species, it consisted primarily of…
Matches: 5 hits
- … | Experiment Floral studies In 1877 Darwin published a book that included a …
- … findings on floral dimorphism were eventually published in 1877, but these experiments and …
- … SOURCES Book Darwin, C. R. 1877. The different forms of flowers on plants of the …
- … experiment, the class read chapter 1 of Charles Darwin’s 1877 T he Different Forms of …
- … Flowers on Plants of the Same Species (London: John Murray, 1877), 16. [2] Ibid., 30. …

German poems presented to Darwin
Summary
Experiments in deepest reverence The following poems were enclosed with a photograph album sent as a birthday gift to Charles Darwin by his German and Austrian admirers (see letter from From Emil Rade, [before 16] February 1877). The poems were…
Matches: 6 hits
- … (see letter from From Emil Rade , [before 16] February 1877). The poems were composed by …
- … in Rade’s account of the making of the album (Rade 1877, pp. 39–40), but the others were published …
- … Letter from Emil Rade 1 [before 16] February 1877 2 Münster i./Westf. …
- … From Emil Rade [before 16] February 1877 2 Münster i./Westf. February 1877. …
- … this letter and the letter to Emil Rade, 16 February 1877. 3. The gift was a photograph …
- … Appendix VI. A number of other poems were included in Rade 1877. …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
Here is a list of people that appeared in the photograph album Darwin received for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from scientific admirers in the Netherlands. Many thanks to Hester Loeff for identifying and researching them. No. …
Darwin as mentor
Summary
Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 11096 - Darwin to Romanes, G. J., [9 August 1877] Darwin points out a mistake made …

Natural Science and Femininity
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters A conflation of masculine intellect and feminine thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity. Working from the private domestic comfort of their homes and exercising…

Dipsacus and Drosera: Frank’s favourite carnivores
Summary
In Autumn of 1875, Francis Darwin was busy researching aggregation in the tentacles of Drosera rotundifolia (F. Darwin 1876). This phenomenon occurs when coloured particles within either protoplasm or the fluid in the cell vacuole (the cell sap) cluster…
Matches: 7 hits
- … and proofreading Darwin’s second edition of Orchids (1877). By January of the following …
- … ( Dipsacus sylvestris )’ at the Royal Society on 1 March 1877 (F. Darwin 1877a). His address was …
- … and a plate of sixteen figures, was published in July 1877 in the Quarterly Journal of …
- … the journal by the end of the month ( Nature , 23 August 1877, p. 339). Although, as Darwin …
- … to his father’s beloved Drosera rotundifolia in June 1877, finding sundews that had been ‘fed’ …
- … Grant. References Darwin, C. 1877. The Contractile Filaments of the …
- … teasel ( Dipsacus sylvestris ). (Abstract.) [Read 1 March 1877.] Proceedings of the Royal …
Referencing women’s work
Summary
Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 11221 - Darwin to Darwin, H., [1 November 1877] Darwin asks his sons, …
People featured in the German and Austrian photograph album
Summary
Biographical details of people from the Habsburg Empire that appeared in the album of German and Austrian scientists sent to Darwin on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Johannes Mattes for providing these details and for permission to make his…
Matches: 4 hits
- … and Austrian scientists sent to Darwin on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Johannes …
- … in Linz (1871), Vienna (1873) and Prostějov (1877). M. Pichler: Notice of death. In: …
- … of Vienna (Dr., 1873). Habilitation in palaeontology (1877) and geology (1880) at the Technical …
- … (1859), geologist (1873) and finally chief geologist (1877) and Bergrat of the Imperial …