From W. B. Tegetmeier 10 April 1865
Muswell Hill | London | N
Monday Ap 10 1865.
My dear Sir
The MSS arrived duly.—1 Your estimate of the extent to which my patience would be taxed in reading it is very erroneous. I devoured it at one sitting.—but I will not return it for a few days with your permission as I want to look over several parts again—.
Mr Wells will undertake the drawings at 30s/ each on the wood and will take the greatest pains to do them with extreme accuracy.—
The reason that the Smerle and Trumpeter are more correct than the others, is that I told him to draw the birds as they actually existed, whereas the Barb and Carrier were drawn when my eye was injured and I did not see the sketches and the Owners insisted on Mr Wells seeing with their eyes. consequently the engravings are not correct.— fancy standards instead of actual transcripts being given—2
Mr Wells is not a business man and would rather have nothing to do with the wood engravers account. but I will see the Engravers and get an estimate sent in to Mr Murray3
Wells drew for our old friend Mr Yarrell so he may be trusted.4
I enclose a reply from Mr Zurhorst (the most successful and largest breeder of White Cochins) respecting the colour of the Chicken in the down.5 I felt quite certain that Mr Brent was wrong.6 I do not know whether he ever had any white cochins. but I should regard Mr Zurhorsts letter as conclusive, he is a very intelligent gentleman and an ardent admirer of this breed—
Like every one else he seems proud to be able to assist you even in the slightest and asks me if I am enquiring for “the great writer on species. if so I prostrate myself as a persian to the rising sun” and he further says the replies are from his own experience.
I have made several notes on the Pigeon MSS but will not send them until I return the MSS
Believe me very truly Yours | W B Tegetmeier
Pray do not trouble to write or dictate a reply to this it requires none and I shall be writing when I return the MSS
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Yarrell, William. 1836. A history of British fishes. 2 vols. London: John Van Voorst.
Summary
MS [of CD’s pigeon chapter] arrived safely.
Pigeon and poultry engravings [for Variation].
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4808
- From
- William Bernhard Tegetmeier
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Muswell Hill
- Source of text
- DAR 178: 67
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4808,” accessed on 19 October 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4808.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 13