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Darwin Correspondence Project

To The Royal Geographical Society   [30 July 1844 – 1 October 1846]1

Down near Bromley | Kent

Tuesday Morning

My dear Sir

I shd feel particularly obliged to you, if you would take the trouble to search to see whether there is in the possession of the Society, a Spanish Map, by “La Cruz”2 of the Cordillera of central Chile near St. Jago: It is one of the best, & I am in the greatest need of it.— If you can find it, wd you send it directed to me, at the Athenæum, not later than 12 oclock on Thursday when I shall call there on my way home.

My dear Sir | Yours very truly | C. Darwin

P.S. Shd. you have any map, of the Cordillera of Chile, I shd be very glad to see it.—

The rock-specimens have not been yet sent to the Geolog. Soc. for me.

Footnotes

The date range is that of the writing of South America. See ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 3, Appendix II): ‘July 27th.—/44/—/Began S. America.’ The first Tuesday after 27 July was 30 July.
The map was drawn by William Desborough Cooley based on the diary of Luis de la Cruz (Cruz 1835), who, in 1806, travelled across the Andes to Buenos Aires. CD complained that maps of the area differed from each other and were ‘all exceedingly imperfect’ (South America, p. 176).

Bibliography

Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.

Cruz, Luis de la. 1835. Viage a su costa, del alcalde provincial del muy ilustre cabildo de la Concepción de Chile … desde el fuerte de Ballenar, frontera de dicha Concepción, por tierras desconocidas … hasta la cuidad de Buenos-Aires. Buenos Aires.

South America: Geological observations on South America. Being the third part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Capt. FitzRoy RN, during the years 1832 to 1836. By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1846.

Summary

Urgently needs a Spanish map of the Cordilleras of central Chile near St Jago [Santiago].

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-767
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Royal Geographical Society
Sent from
Down
Source of text
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (GEN/D/DARWIN (C)/5)
Physical description
ALS 3pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 767,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-767.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 3

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