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Darwin Correspondence Project

From John Murray    18 September [1868]1

50A, Albemarle St. | W.

Sept. 18

My Dear Sir

A copy of your Book was sent from this Jany 29 properly addressed to Mr Walsh & left at Baillières Regent St.2 Some days afterwards my porter called there & finding B. had no prospect of forwarding it to New York, he took away the parcel to transfer it to Sampson Lows care.3 After this all trace of it is lost & I fear through some neglect of one of my people it was not forwarded—

I greatly regret this mishap & I have sent another copy from myself in consequence by post-free. I hope it will reach its destination safely & that Mr Walch will relieve you of all charge of neglect & lay it on the shoulders of

Your faithful servt | John Murray

On referring to your letter there is some abbreviation in your writing wch I cannot make out

J. D. Walsch Esq of Rock— — Illinois   I keep back the parcel begging you to supply this word—4

Chas. Darwin Esq

Footnotes

The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to John Murray, 16 September [1868].
CD had told Benjamin Dann Walsh in January that he had asked his publisher, John Murray, to send a copy of Variation through the firm of Baillière brothers in New York (see letter to BDWalsh, 27 January [1868]). The publishing firm of the Baillière family also had offices at 219 Regent Street in London (Post Office London directory 1866). See letter to John Murray, 16 September [1868].
Sampson Low was the senior partner of the publishers Sampson Low, Son & Marston, with premises at 188 Fleet Street, London (ODNB).
Walsh lived in Rock Island, Illinois (see letter to John Murray, 16 September [1868]).

Bibliography

ODNB: Oxford dictionary of national biography: from the earliest times to the year 2000. (Revised edition.) Edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. and index. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004.

Post Office London directory: Post-Office annual directory. … A list of the principal merchants, traders of eminence, &c. in the cities of London and Westminster, the borough of Southwark, and parts adjacent … general and special information relating to the Post Office. Post Office London directory. London: His Majesty’s Postmaster-General [and others]. 1802–1967.

Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.

Summary

JM will send another copy of Variation to B. D. Walsh.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-6376
From
John Murray
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
London, Albemarle St, 50a
Source of text
DAR 171: 360
Physical description
ALS 2pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6376,” accessed on 26 November 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6376.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 16

letter