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Darwin Correspondence Project

To Robert Fitch   11 November [1850]

Down Farnborough Kent

Nov. 11th.—

My dear Sir

I am very much obliged for your kind note. By the same Post, there came in answer to my letter of complaint to Mr Sowerby one of 5 Plates perfect, full of drawings of your specimens.— He assures me he will make as much progress as possible & that one chief cause of the delay has been that his house has been pulled down in the Botanic Gardens.—

I will again write to him & tell him that you will very soon demand back your specimens whether finished or not.— Mr. S. is by no means the only Engraver employed by the Pal. Soc.— I did not know how dreadfully dilatory he was, when I picked him out as most capable of doing the work well.—1

I thank you much for the present of the pamphlet;2 I wish that I was more worthy to receive it—

Yours sincerely | C. Darwin

I beg to thank you most particularly for your further offer of more specimens, but I really stand in no need of any others.—

Footnotes

CD employed George Brettingham Sowerby Jr, nephew of James de Carle Sowerby, to do the drawings for the remaining volumes of the Cirripedia monograph, Living Cirripedia (1851), Living Cirripedia (1854), Fossil Cirripedia (1854).
Possibly Fitch 1847, published by the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society, of which Fitch was an active member.

Bibliography

Fitch, Robert. 1847. Seal of the Benedictine nunnery at Carrow. Norfolk archaeology: or miscellaneous tracts relating to the antiquities of the county of Norfolk, published by the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society 1: 252–4.

Fossil Cirripedia (1854): A monograph of the fossil Balanidæ and Verrucidæ of Great Britain. By Charles Darwin. London: Palaeontographical Society. 1854.

Living Cirripedia (1851): A monograph of the sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. The Lepadidæ; or, pedunculated cirripedes. By Charles Darwin. London: Ray Society. 1851.

Living Cirripedia (1854): A monograph of the sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. The Balanidæ (or sessile cirripedes); the Verrucidæ, etc. By Charles Darwin. London: Ray Society. 1854.

Summary

Describes progress in illustrating fossil cirripede specimens by J. de C. Sowerby.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-1369
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Robert Fitch
Sent from
Down
Source of text
Norwich Castle
Physical description
ALS 4pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 1369,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-1369.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 4

letter