To [John Colby] 2 March [1877]
Summary
Does not think the pistil behaved as JC described, except by mere accident.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Colby |
| Date: | 2 Mar [1877] |
| Classmark: | The National Library of Israel (Abraham Schwadron collection, Schwad 03 04 07) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10873F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Israel (Abraham Schwadron collection, Schwad 03 04 07) Charles Robert Darwin Down 2 Mar [ …
To ? 13 December [1869]
Summary
Has given the right of translation [of Descent] to Julius Victor Carus of Leipzig, so the recipient should inform Alexander Duncker to communicate with JVC.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Unidentified |
| Date: | 13 Dec [1869] |
| Classmark: | The National Library of Israel (Abraham Schwadron collection, Schwad 03 04 07) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7028F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Israel (Abraham Schwadron collection, Schwad 03 04 07) Charles Robert Darwin Down 13 Dec [ …
To John Allen 25 May 1847
Summary
Thanks for JS’s note concerning a proposal [concerning some aspect of education of poor children?] which CD has to decline because of his poor health and his work in Natural History.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Allen |
| Date: | 25 May 1847 |
| Classmark: | The National Library of Israel (Abraham Schwadron collection, Schwad 03 04 07) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1090F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Israel (Abraham Schwadron collection, Schwad 03 04 07) Charles Robert Darwin Down 25 May …
From Joseph Fayrer 30 June 1874
Summary
Reports on results of experiments on effect of cobra poison on animal cilia and muscle.
| Author: | Joseph Fayrer, 1st baronet |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 30 June 1874 |
| Classmark: | DAR 58.1: 69–72 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9521 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … other with a solution of cobra poison of . 03 gramme Poison to 4 . 6. cubic centimetres …
Smith, C. A. (1827–1907)
Matches: 1 hit
- … as The New Haven Evening Register; Date: 03-17-1894; Volume: LII; Issue: 65; Page: [1]; …
From Joseph Fayrer 6 January 1875
Summary
Encloses results of experiments on influence of snake poison on ciliary action and vegetable protoplasm.
| Author: | Joseph Fayrer, 1st baronet |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 6 Jan 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 58.2: 71, 73–82, DAR 164: 112 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9806 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1. A standard solution of cobra poison: ·03 gramme to 4·6 cubic centimetres of water was …
| Darwin, C. R. | (3) |
| Fayrer, Joseph | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (2) |
| Allen, John | (1) |
| Colby, John | (1) |
| Unidentified | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (5) |
| Fayrer, Joseph | (2) |
| Allen, John | (1) |
| Colby, John | (1) |
| Unidentified | (1) |
CCD intro in Commentary
Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics
Summary
On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…
Matches: 5 hits
- … at all concern his main argument ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] ). Darwin’s …
- … been ‘ utterly smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A chronological list of all …
- … and five botanists ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 March [1860] ). Others, like François Jules …
- … I gaze at it, makes me sick!’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 3 April [1860] ). By the end of 1860, …
- … is best thing for subject.—’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). Further details of the …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 8 hits
- … of a ‘short essay’ on man ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 3 July 1868 ). But this work would eventually …
- … pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). But such worries were …
- … kind almost heroic, in you to sacrifice your hair and pay 3 d in the cause of science …
- … canary (letters from J. J. Weir, [26] March 1868 and 3 June 1868 ). ‘It was very kind’, …
- … on 9 September . Darwin annotated a letter sent on 3 April by Henry Doubleday that contained a …
- … you have communicated to me’ ( letter to Fritz Müller, 3 June 1868 ). it is a fatal …
- … of species through the study of monstrosities, remarked on 3 April , ‘your works are destined to …
- … admirer of your genius’, wrote Frederick Behrens on 3 December , ‘I presume you are much plagued …
Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings
Summary
‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…
Matches: 5 hits
- … to the subject of cross and self-fertilisation. On 3 October , he wrote with fresh enthusiasm to …
- … other interested parties. Darwin was summoned to testify on 3 November. It caused him much anxiety, …
- … for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). In the event, the …
- … weekly publications of Natural History’, he explained on 3 June , ‘are not sufficiently …
- … time I can talk to anyone’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 3 May [1875] ). Finally it was arranged for …
Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms
Summary
‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Kingdom, & even the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 ). Darwin’s sons George …
- … regret that I did not do so’ ( letter to Samuel Butler, 3 January 1880 ). At the top of Butler’s …
- … It is a horrid disease’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 February 1880 ). All went quiet until …
- … letter … made me open my eyes’, Gray replied on 3 February , but he affirmed his original …
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 5 hits
- … ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus Alvey Darwin, 3 January 1865 ). Erasmus forwarded his …
- … these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 ). Darwin, now …
- … than anything else. I am able most days to work for 2 or 3 hours & this makes all the difference …
- … the serenity of the Christian world’ (Brewster 1862, p. 3). John Hutton Balfour, though he had sent …
- … of reform and reorganisation ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [3 November 1865] ). The death of …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 5 hits
- … of inheritance!” ( letter to F. S. B. F. de Chaumont, 3 February [1873] ). Some readers …
- … civilisation and good breeding ( letter from Henry Reeks, 3 March 1873 ). Robert Swinhoe …
- … some with his finger ( letter to Nature , [before 3 April 1873] ). Moggridge suggested the …
- … offend his father ( enclosure to letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 December 1873 ). In April, …
- … the passage of purgatory” ( letter from Andrew Clark, 3 September 1873 ). Revising …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 5 hits
- … duck most beautiful’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 3 March 1872 ). I consider that you …
- … because I do it badly’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 3 August [1872] ). Darwin's …
- … , and he complained to the German zoologist Anton Dohrn on 3 February that Mivart’s book had ' …
- … Nature in Wallace’s defence ( letter to Nature , 3 August [1872] ). Although the two …
- … more ‘ she observed ( letter from S. H. Haliburton, 3 November [1872] ). They reminisced about …
Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest
Summary
The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of Origin. Darwin got the fourth…
Matches: 5 hits
- … Bence Jones: ‘I am able now to walk daily on an average 3½ miles & often one mile at a stretch…. …
- … for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). Darwin had first …
- … London, like what I was 7 or 8 years ago— one day I paid 3 calls! & then went for ¾ to Zoolog. …
- … little is known on the subject’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 and 4 August [1866] ). And on the next …
- … did in fact divide Darwin and Hooker, who remarked on 3 November that the application of high …
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: 6 hits
- … for his crimes… ?’ ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January [1863] , and letter to Hugh Falconer, …
- … between reptiles and birds ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January [1863] ). Darwin was delighted …
- … in opposition to him ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [22–3 November 1863] ). However, it is certain …
- … that ‘there are almost certainly several cases of 2 or 3 or more species blended together & now …
- … is not at all palatable!’ ( letter from John Scott, [3 June 1863] ). Darwin’s early …
- … [25 July 1863], and letter to J. D. Hooker, [22–3 November 1863] ). Writing Variation …
Darwin in letters, 1861: Gaining allies
Summary
The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. He had weathered the storm that followed the publication of Origin, and felt cautiously optimistic about the ultimate acceptance of his ideas. The letters from this year provide an…
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: 5 hits
- … conclusions rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] ). One day Francis …
- … Moschkau concluded, but it was sold to a vicar and ‘after 3 months his cat ate it.’ Darwin also …
- … that such checks had been in action during the last 2 or 3 centuries, or even for a shorter time in …
- … ). ‘When I first read your note’, Darwin replied on 3 February [1878] , ‘I thought that you had …
- … much of the European crop (see Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. S. Henslow, 28 October …
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: 3 hits
Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute
Summary
Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…
Matches: 1 hits
- … from his publisher, John Murray, he wrote to Murray on 3 January 1867 , ‘I cannot tell you how …
Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…
Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots
Summary
Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…
Matches: 3 hits
- … Francis also purchased a gift for his son Bernard (nearly 3 years old and variously called Abbadubba …
- … progress with all the pride of a fond grandfather. On 3 June, he wrote , ‘Bernard has been very …
- … they mean by God—.’ Undaunted, Mengden wrote again on 3 June to ask Darwin, ‘what definition of …
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
Matches: 4 hits
- … & hurrah for my species-work’ ( Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [5 or 12 …
- … in the side of É de B.’ (letter to Charles Lyell, 3 January 1850 ). Barnacles Over …
- … of Balanus , drawings of which are preserved in DAR 29.3 (Plate 20, figs 1–13) and reproduced in …
- … very well. Very methodical in all my habits.’ ( LL 3: 179) …
Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health
Summary
On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’. Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…
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…
Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin
Summary
The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…
Matches: 5 hits
- … that Darwin received Wallace’s letter and manuscript on 3 June 1858, the same day that another …
- … was postmarked ‘Singapore Apr 21 58’ and ‘London Ju 3 58’. Brooks maintains that Darwin …
- … forwarded Wallace’s paper to Lyell (Brooks 1984, pp. 262–3). It is of some significance to note that …
- … plan of his book (see letter from Elwin to Murray, 3 May 1859 , and letter to John Murray, 6 …
- … theory for the origin of mankind. As he wrote to Darwin on 3 October 1859, ‘the case of Man and his …
Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments
Summary
1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…
Matches: 7 hits
- … Hooker told him: ‘you are alluded to in no less than 3 of the papers in Linn. Trans!— I do not think …
- … to J. D. Hooker, 14 [October 1862] ; see ML 2: 292–3). Other species proved more profitable …
- … extent of the subject, telling Oliver: ‘I can see at least 3 classes of dimorphism’ ( letter to …
- … to the Origin ’ ( letter from Asa Gray, 2–3 July 1862 ). Henry Walter Bates …
- … that it was only the administration of ‘Port-wine every 3/4 hour, night & day’ that saved the …
- … to death what to do’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, [2–3 August 1862] ). They determined on a seaside …
- … set to work ( see letter to W. E. Darwin, [2–3 August 1862] , and letter from W. E. Darwin, 5 …
