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Darwin Correspondence Project

To John Murray   12 May [1871]1

Bassett | Southampton

May 12th.

My dear Mr Murray

All right & very pleasant.— You can send Bills here, or wait about 10 days & send to Down.—2

Please specially remember that I shall require at least 6 weeks notice before a new Edit. of “Descent”, has to go to press, as it will be considerably corrected.—

I wrote the other day to Mr Cooke about the cheap ed. of the Origin.3 I am becoming very anxious for such an edition, as I could advantageously answer objections in it. Will you be so kind as to inform me, as soon as you can decide on the subject, as I cd then work slowly in preparing it.

I do not quite understand what the editor of Vanity Fair wants;4 I cd send him 2 or 3 of the best photos which have been made of me, but I could not endure to give sittings to his artists, if that is what he wishes.

yours sincerely | Ch Darwin

Footnotes

The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from John Murray, 10 May 1871.
The bills were Murray’s payment for the third printing of Descent. See letter from John Murray, 10 May 1871. The Darwins were visiting William Erasmus Darwin in Southampton from 11 to 19 May 1871 (CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)).
Murray had received a request for a portrait of CD from the editor of Vanity Fair, Thomas Gibson Bowles. See letter from John Murray, 10 May 1871.

Summary

Will require at least six weeks’ notice before a new edition of Descent has to go to press because of considerable corrections needed.

Thinks cheap edition of Origin is needed, since he could answer objections in it.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-7755
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
John Murray
Sent from
Bassett
Source of text
National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms. 42152 ff. 244–5)
Physical description
LS(A) 3pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7755,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7755.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 19

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