To John Murray 15 November 1876
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.
Nov 15. 76
My dear Sir,
I am very well satisfied with the sale of my books on the whole.1 I am rejoiced about the Fertilisation as I did not expect that more than 6 or 700 would sell. I never supposed that such special treatises & climbing plants would go on selling. The only very bad point in your list is ‘The Expression of the Emotions’; & I am astonished at this, seeing how largely the book sells in Germany.2 I still believe that in the course of years the copies in hand will go off. Messrs Edwards have greatly improved the heliotypes for the Germany edit3
my dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin
P.S | How many copies do you mean to print of the Cross-Fertilisation book I should think 1500 would be ample
Footnotes
Bibliography
Climbing plants 2d ed.: The movements and habits of climbing plants. 2d edition. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Cross and self fertilisation: The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1876.
Descent 2d ed.: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. London: John Murray. 1874.
Expression: The expression of the emotions in man and animals. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Insectivorous plants. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.
Journal of researches 2d ed.: Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of HMS Beagle round the world, under the command of Capt. FitzRoy RN. 2d edition, corrected, with additions. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1845.
Origin 6th ed.: The origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 6th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Variation 2d ed.: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1875.
Summary
Is satisfied with sales of his books.
Did not expect Orchids to sell more than 600 or 700 copies.
Only bad item is Expression, which astonishes him, since it sells well in Germany.
Asks size of printing of Cross and self-fertilisation; thinks 1500 would be ample.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10672
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- John Murray
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms. 42152 ff. 306–7)
- Physical description
- LS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10672,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10672.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24
