To [W. A. Leighton?] [1840–77?]
Summary
Valediction only of a letter stuck into a writing case.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Allport Leighton |
| Date: | [1840–77?] |
| Classmark: | Estate of the late Mr D. Evans (private collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13770H |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Archæological and Natural History Society 1 (1878): x). The recipient is conjectured from …
To [William Baxter or W. W. Baxter?] [1842–82?]
Summary
Orders pot of soft spermaceti ointment.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Walmisley Baxter; William Baxter |
| Date: | [1842–82?] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.536) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11313 |
To [William Baxter or W. W. Baxter?] 2 [October 1842 – April 1882]
Summary
Requests some carbonate of ammonia.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Walmisley Baxter; William Baxter |
| Date: | 2 [Oct 1842 - Mar 1882] |
| Classmark: | University of Rochester Libraries, Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation (tipped into a copy of Insectivorous plants (QH 9.9 I59m)) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8132 |
Matches: 12 hits
- … June 1877 2 July 1877 2 Aug 1877 2 Sept 1877 2 Oct 1877 2 Nov 1877 2 Dec 1877 2 Jan 1878 2 …
- … Feb 1878 2 …
- … Mar 1878 2 …
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- … July 1878 2 …
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- … Dec 1878 2 Jan 1879 2 Feb 1879 2 Mar 1879 2 Apr 1879 2 May 1879 2 June 1879 2 July 1879 2 …
To [William Baxter or W. W. Baxter?] 8 December [1842–81]
Summary
Orders large pot of spermaceti ointment.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Walmisley Baxter; William Baxter |
| Date: | 8 Dec [1842-81] |
| Classmark: | University of Otago, Special Collections (MS 49) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11271F |
To ? 1 March [1843–82]
Summary
Regrets not having a duplicate of one of his books to give away. "You will before long no doubt be able to borrow a copy."
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Unidentified |
| Date: | 1 Mar [1843-82] |
| Classmark: | Sotheby’s (dealers) (12 November 1963) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13865 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1 Mar 1875 1 Mar 1876 1 Mar 1877 1 Mar 1878 1 Mar 1879 1 Mar 1880 1 Mar 1881 1 Mar 1882 …
To William Baxter or W. W. Baxter 16 March [1843–82]
Summary
Asks for a bottle to be filled with spirits of wine.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Walmisley Baxter; William Baxter |
| Date: | 16 Mar [1843-82] |
| Classmark: | Bromley Historic Collections, Bromley Central Library (144/1) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13772F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 16 Mar 1875 16 Mar 1876 16 Mar 1877 16 Mar 1878 16 Mar 1879 16 Mar 1880 16 Mar 1881 16 Mar …
To William Baxter or W. W. Baxter 21 March [1843–82]
Summary
Requests a mixture of verdigris, sal ammoniac, and lamp-black.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Walmisley Baxter; William Baxter |
| Date: | 21 Mar [1843-82] |
| Classmark: | Bromley Historic Collections, Bromley Central Library (Baxter Collection, 1136/1) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13772 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 21 Mar 1875 21 Mar 1876 21 Mar 1877 21 Mar 1878 21 Mar 1879 21 Mar 1880 21 Mar 1881 21 Mar …
To J. D. Hooker 22 [January 1844 – March 1882]
Summary
Discusses books returned
and invites him to Down for a few days.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 22 [Jan 1844 - Mar 1882] |
| Classmark: | Sotheby’s (dealers) (14 and 28 May 1983) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13816A |
Matches: 12 hits
- … June 1878 22 …
- … July 1878 22 …
- … Aug 1878 22 …
- … Sept 1878 22 …
- … Oct 1878 22 …
- … Nov 1878 22 …
- … Dec 1878 22 Jan 1879 22 Feb 1879 22 Mar 1879 22 Apr 1879 22 May 1879 22 June 1879 22 July …
- … 22 July 1877 22 Aug 1877 22 Sept 1877 22 Oct 1877 22 Nov 1877 22 Dec 1877 22 Jan 1878 22 …
- … Feb 1878 22 …
- … Mar 1878 22 …
- … Apr 1878 22 …
- … May 1878 22 …
To H. E. Strickland [19 February 1849]
Summary
Thanks HES for solving his problem. Has some difficulty with HES’s type-species. In arranging genera in a natural order it is often impossible to say which species should be considered the type.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Hugh Edwin Strickland |
| Date: | [19 Feb 1849] |
| Classmark: | Museum of Zoology Archives, University of Cambridge (Strickland Papers) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1227 |
To T. H. Huxley 27 May [1856]
Summary
Has written very strong notes to Lord Overstone and Sir J. W. Lubbock and hopes they will be of service to THH.
Acknowledges receipt of THH’s lecture [unidentified].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Date: | 27 May [1856] |
| Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 174) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1878 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … DCP-LETT-1878 …
From Louis Sulpice Bouton to Charles Tilstone Beke 24 September [1856]
Summary
Sends extract from a correspondent’s letter reporting birds carried to Mauritius from Madagascar by winds.
| Author: | Louis Sulpice (Louis) Bouton |
| Addressee: | Charles Tilstone Beke |
| Date: | 24 Sept [1856] |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.3: 262 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1961 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … was secretary of the society until his death in 1878. Savanne is a district of south- west …
To ? [1860–82?]
Summary
CD’s health remains bad and as he grows older he becomes weaker.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Unidentified |
| Date: | [1860–82?] |
| Classmark: | Wellcome Collection (MS.7781/34) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13876 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Gray, 16 April [1866] , and Correspondence vol. 26, letter to J. W. Judd, 27 June 1878 ). …
From Williams & Norgate 29 March 1860
Summary
W&N have not yet received the German edition of the Origin.
Recommend French–English and French dictionaries.
| Author: | Williams & Norgate |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 29 Mar 1860 |
| Classmark: | DAR 91: 82 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2735 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … The next edition was not published until 1878. Poitevin 1856–60 . Fleming and Tibbins …
To P. L. Sclater 22 May [1860–81]
Summary
CD has signed the enclosed with great pleasure.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Philip Lutley Sclater |
| Date: | 22 May [1860-81] |
| Classmark: | John Wilson (dealer) (1987) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13839A |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 22 May 1875 22 May 1876 22 May 1877 22 May 1878 22 May 1879 22 May 1880 22 May 1881 Philip …
From E. A. Darwin 20 June [1862]
Summary
Asks CD to help Thomas Carlyle find and borrow a book.
| Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 June [1862] |
| Classmark: | DAR 105 (ser. 2): 4–5 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3614 |
To E. A. Darwin 21 June [1862]
Summary
His friend Trenham Reeks [Secretary of Museum of Practical Geology] would give Carlyle information and help. This note will serve as introduction.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
| Date: | 21 June [1862] |
| Classmark: | National Library of Scotland (MS.553:440 (241)) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3617 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … out of the building’ (White and Newton 1878, p. [iii]). Erasmus enclosed CD’s note in a …
To Daniel Oliver 20 [February 1863]
Summary
Having trouble understanding laws of phyllotaxy in order to grasp Hugh Falconer’s objections.
L. C. Treviranus on Primula [see 3980] misses the "prettiness" of the adaptations.
John Scott says P. scotica is never dimorphic.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Daniel Oliver |
| Date: | 20 [Feb 1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 261.10: 41 (EH 88206024) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4052 |
From Thomas Wright 27 February 1863
Summary
Regrets he did not make the statement [unspecified] referred to by CD.
Believes the Origin has been very valuable, even among those not disposed to agree with transmutation, in giving a great check to "species manufacture".
| Author: | Thomas Wright |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 27 Feb 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 178 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4016 |
From Isaac Anderson-Henry 7 May 1863
Summary
CD is right on heterostyly in Primula. High praise. Has confirmed it with Primula polyanthus.
| Author: | Isaac Anderson; Isaac Anderson Henry |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 May 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 159: 66 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4146 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of Madderty, Perthshire ( County families 1878). In his letter to CD of 24 April 1863 , …
From Asa Gray to J. D. Hooker 6 July 1863
Summary
Includes comments about George Bentham’s anniversary address to the Linnean Society with particular notice of the favourable attention to Darwin, except for Natural Selection, and to AG’s essay in the Atlantic Monthly.
He defends [W. B.] Carpenter and [Jeffries] Wyman against [Richard] Owen.
Gossip about scientific honours and other matters.
| Author: | Asa Gray |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 6 July 1863 |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Asa Gray correspondence: 328–9) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4232F |
| letter | (1219) |
| people | (368) |
| bibliography | (181) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (580) |
| Darwin, Francis | (42) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (36) |
| Torbitt, James | (28) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (26) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (605) |
| Darwin, Francis | (52) |
| Thiselton-Dyer, W. T. | (32) |
| Romanes, G. J. | (26) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (22) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (1185) |
| Darwin, Francis | (94) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (58) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (45) |
| Romanes, G. J. | (43) |
Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 29 hits
- … is to lessen injury to leaves from radiation In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his …
- … scientific man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December [1878] ). Writing to Ernst Haeckel on …
- … plants.’ Movement in plants In the spring of 1878, Darwin started to focus on the …
- … come up arched’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). While Darwin was studying the …
- … of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] ). Having found plants responsive to …
- … at my blunder’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 22 December [1878] ). Son abroad Darwin’s …
- … kind to him’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June [1878] ). While Francis was away, Darwin …
- … work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] ). Two weeks later he wrote: ‘I …
- … to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). It is unclear why the …
- … reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July 1878] ): ‘The oats have only just begun to …
- … Francis wrote ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 17 July 1878] ), ‘a strong horizontal axis …
- … rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] ). One day Francis observed that the …
- … out one’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July 1878] ). Sachs’s confidence was apparently …
- … him,’ he reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [22 June 1878] ). ‘Sachs doesn’t consider that …
- … all evils’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [24 and 25 July 1878] ). Babies and animals …
- … he added a week later ( letter to Francis Darwin, 14 July [1878] ). Darwin had of course observed …
- … have said a gee-gee’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 17 July [1878] ). On 12 September , Darwin …
- … will always do so’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 20 August [1878] ). Darwin remarked that a monkey …
- … in your house!’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 2 September [1878] ). More remarkable cases of …
- … of a thieving wasp’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 21 June 1878 ). An inspiration In …
- … ( letter from J.-B. Dumas and Joseph Bertrand, 5 August 1878 ). Despite his many botanical …
- … to me quite ridiculous’ ( letter to John Price, 2 April [1878] ). When a wealthy businessman tried …
- … ( letter from Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvár, 28 April 1878 ). ‘What a wonderful change in the …
- … The Swiss botanist Arnold Dodel-Port announced on 12 June 1878 the first issue of an atlas with …
- … come together’ ( letter from Arnold Dodel-Port, 18 June 1878 ). In countries where …
- … are without you’ (letters from Carl Kraus, [31?] January 1878 and 10 February 1878 ). Darwin …
- … been school-boys’ ( letter to Karl von Scherzer, 1 April 1878 ). More critics Closer …
- … matter’ ( letter from H. N. Ridley, [before 28 November 1878] ). Darwin received a copy of the …
- … care of himself ’ ( letter from J. B. Innes, 1 December 1878 ). Darwin did not think the Oxford …
Darwn's letters from 1878 online
Summary
Investigating the movements and 'sleep' of plants, being entertained by the mental faculties of his young grandson Bernard, finally elected a corresponding member of the French Académie des sciences, trying to secure a government grant to support…
Wearing his knowledge lightly: From Fritz Müller, 5 April 1878
Summary
Darwin received letters from so many people and wrote so many fascinating letters himself, that it’s hard to choose from many letters that stand out, but one of this editor’s favourites, that always brings a smile, is a letter from Fritz Müller written 5…
Matches: 1 hits
- … smile, is a letter from Fritz Müller written 5 April 1878 . Müller was a German naturalist …
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,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … specimen, both sides of which are reproduced, 29 January 1878 S. B. J. Skertchly's …
Power of movement in plants
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Family experiments Darwin was an active and engaged father during his children's youth, involving them in his experiments and even occasionally using them as observational subjects. When his children…
3.8 Leonard Darwin, interior photo
Summary
< Back to Introduction Leonard Darwin, who created the distinctive image of his father sitting on the verandah at Down House, also portrayed him as a melancholy philosopher. His head, brightly lit from above, emerges from the enveloping darkness; he…
Matches: 6 hits
- … when he took his photographs. This one must be before August 1878, when it was reproduced as a …
- … copies in the Darwin archive say the photograph was taken in 1878. The latter date is accepted by …
- … Leonard wrote to his father from Brompton Barracks in April 1878 enclosing two photographs …
- … of the photograph at Down House that he took it in 1878. It was this photograph which …
- … date of creation undated; probably early 1878 computer-readable date c.1878-01-01 to c …
- … to his father, enclosing unidentified photographs, 25 April 1878. Woodburytype reproduction of …
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…
Darwin and the Church
Summary
The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…
Movement in Plants
Summary
The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…
Matches: 4 hits
- … son Francis worked in this laboratory in the summers of 1878 and 1879, he encountered some of the …
- … Movement in plants , p. 179. In May 1878, Darwin had pointed out the importance of …
- … his experiments on the function of bloom. By December 1878, Darwin was thinking about the …
- … accuracy ( letter from J. D. Cooper, 13 December 1878 ). The method would be expensive, so Darwin …
4.31 'La Lune Rousse', Gill cartoon
Summary
< Back to Introduction A drawing of Darwin by André Gill borrows a satirical trope found in The Hornet, Fun and Punch, showing him with a large caricatured head joined to the body of an ape. However, La Lune Rousse is distinctively French in…
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: 4 hits
- … experiments. Francis went to Germany in the summer of 1878 for more experience in physiological …
- … this to you’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [1 August 1878] ). The last years also saw Darwin …
- … and Earthworms , pp. 221–8). Darwin resumed contact in 1878. On receiving Darwin’s letter, …
- … at wormbs”’ ( letter from Mary Johnson, [after 22 July 1878] ). Edition complete …
Darwin’s Photographic Portraits
Summary
Darwin was a photography enthusiast. This is evident not only in his use of photography for the study of Expression and Emotions in Man and Animal, but can be witnessed in his many photographic portraits and in the extensive portrait correspondence that…
Dining at Down House
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Dining, Digestion, and Darwin's Domestic Life While Darwin is best remembered for his scientific accomplishments, he greatly valued and was strongly influenced by his domestic life. Darwin's…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Leonard Darwin to George Darwin, 8 February [1878] Darwin’s youngest son, Leonard (Lenny), …
1.13 Louisa Nash, drawing
Summary
< Back to Introduction This sketch portrait of Darwin was drawn by Louisa A‘hmuty Nash as a memento of her friendship with the Darwin family and a token of her unbounded admiration and affection for Darwin himself. She and her husband, the lawyer…
Matches: 3 hits
1.12 Marian Huxley, drawing
Summary
< Back to Introduction Portrayals of Darwin by women in his social circle cannot be lumped together as the products of adoring amateurs. In 1878 he was sketched by Marian (‘Mady’) Huxley, who was then only in her late teens, but already a trained and…
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: 1 hits
- … A. W. Rimpau, 10 December 1877 ). By the end of February 1878, Murray was ready to print the second …
4.33 'Harper's Weekly', Bellew caricature
Summary
< Back to Introduction In a page of comic drawings by Frank Bellew, ostensibly his ‘Sketches in the New York Aquarium’, yet another joke about Darwin’s simian connections makes an appearance. ‘The Chimpanzee’ sits on a fancy bed amid the straw…
4.30 'La Petite Lune', Gill cartoon
Summary
< Back to Introduction La Petite Lune was a sister paper of La Lune Rousse, and was published, edited and illustrated by André Gill, through 1878-9. It featured a series of caricatures titled ‘Les hommes illustrés’, to which this belongs. Gill again…
2.23 Hope Pinker statue, Oxford Museum
Summary
< Back to Introduction Henry Richard Hope Pinker’s life-size statue of Darwin was installed in the Oxford University Museum on 14 June 1899. It was the latest in a series of statues of great scientific thinkers, the ‘Founders and Improvers of Natural…
3.17 Lock and Whitfield, 'Men of Mark'
Summary
< Back to Introduction The ambitious series of photographs of Men of Mark, published by the firm of Lock and Whitfield between 1876 and 1883, was a successor to similar sets which had appeared in the 1850s and 1860s. This one was distinguished by its…
