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Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution
Summary
The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’. Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…
Matches: 18 hits
- … The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The …
- … shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
- … anything which has happened to me for some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ) …
- … corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ) …
- … who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
- … abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
- … thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] …
- … how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
- … in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
- … patients, but it did not confirm Duchenne’s findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March …
- … muscle’, he complained, ‘is the bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). …
- … to their belief that all demons and spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870 …
- … . . Could you make it scream without hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] …
- … the mother and foetus during pregnancy. As a case in point, John Jenner Weir described the offspring …
- … also discussed recent experiments by Louis Pasteur and John Tyndall that provided evidence for the …
- … a memorandum. He asked his neighbour, the naturalist John Lubbock, who was now MP for Maidstone, to …
- … reference to mankind of much importance ’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 17 July 1870 ). The motion to …
- … to me and to every one else I suspect’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 2 August 1870 ). Darwin …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
Matches: 12 hits
- … Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
- … chapters of Origin of Species to his publisher, John Murray. He hopes that his views are …
- … her to read to check that she can understand it. Letter 7312 - Darwin to Darwin, F. …
- … from all but educated, typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E …
- … he seeks her help with tone and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 …
- … in order to minimise impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, …
- … he uses to avoid ownership of indelicate content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to …
- … Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. L. B., [8 November, 1869] Darwin writes to feminist …
- … of Herbert Spencer. Letter 7624 - Bathoe, M . B. to Darwin, [25 March 1871] …
- … questionnaire. Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B. to Darwin, [12 February 1876] …
- … Letter 10415 - Darwin to Herrick, S. M. B., [6 March 1876] Darwin responds to a …
- … it be required. Letter 6335 - Innes, J. B. to Darwin, [31 August 1868] …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 18 hits
- … What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 November [1872] …
- … anything more on 'so difficult a subject, as evolution’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 27 July …
- … to spread my views’, he wrote to his publisher, John Murray, on 30 January , shortly after …
- … The public are accustomed to novels for 1s’, he wrote to Murray on 8 January , but Murray …
- … best efforts, set the final price at 7 s. 6 d. ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 February 1872 ) …
- … condition as I can make it’, he wrote to the translator ( letter to J. J. Moulinié, 23 September …
- … by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in July 1870, and was now halted so that the further …
- … translation remained unpublished at the end of the year ( letter from C.-F. Reinwald, 23 November …
- … the new edition in the United States, Darwin arranged with Murray to have it stereotyped. Before the …
- … to the comparative anatomist St George Jackson Mivart ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January …
- … comparison of Whale & duck most beautiful’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 3 March 1872 ) …
- … Hooker’s cause was taken up by his friends, in particular John Lubbock and John Tyndall, as one …
- … to Gladstone a week later ( enclosure to letter from John Lubbock to W. E. Gladstone, 20 June 1872 …
- … photographic plates with his overseas publishers, and with John Murray’s assistant, the excitable …
- … of the booksellers, encouraged an originally cautious John Murray to gamble on the book’s success: & …
- … attractive dishes in his `Literary Banquet’ (letters from John Murray, 6 November [1872] and 9 …
- … to supply comparative observations, and Darwin’s protégé John Scott, now employed as a curator in …
- … a copy of Expression to another old Cambridge friend, John Maurice Herbert, who when they were …
Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest
Summary
The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…
Matches: 21 hits
- … on 24 February, and all 2500 copies were sold in a week. ‘Murray says he is “torn to pieces” by …
- … on 28 February . Demand continued throughout the year, and Murray produced three more printings, …
- … do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ) …
- … £1470 for the first two printings, Darwin wrote to Murray on 20 March 1871 , ‘It is quite a grand …
- … to her liking, ‘to keep in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). …
- … and had forsaken his lunch and dinner in order to read it ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 19 …
- … they believe to be the truth, whether pleasant or not’ (letter from W. W. Reade, 21 February 1871). …
- … and Oldham … They club together to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). …
- … one’s n th . ancestor lived between tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). …
- … habits, furnished with a tail and pointed ears” (letter from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871) …
- … to make it darker than the hair on his head ( letter from W. B. Tegetmeier, [before 25 April 1871] …
- … expressed by Darwin’s old friend, the former vicar of Down John Brodie Innes. Darwin and Innes had …
- … good way ahead of you, as far as this goes’ ( letter to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871] ). On …
- … ‘a windbag full of metaphysics & classics’ ( letter to John Murray, 13 April [1871] ). …
- … Gazette , and wrote to its author, who turned out to be John Morley, a leading advocate of …
- … and transmitted by culture, not biology ( letter from John Morley, 30 March 1871 ). …
- … by his wife and children. William offered his assessment of John Stuart Mill’s theory of …
- … he suspected that very few would actually sell (letters to John Murray, 17 August [1871] and …
- … Wallace, 4 August [1871] ). On 23 September he informed Murray that owing to poor health he had …
- … activity would have on the elevation of land. In October 1870, two separate square yards of ground …
- … years following the publication of Origin of species . Murray convinced him to appear in Vanity …
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 25 hits
- … Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
- … silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
- … observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
- … to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
- … be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
- … Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
- … Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
- … expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. …
- … is making similar observations for him. Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. …
- … of a crying baby to Darwin's daughter, Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, …
- … briefly on her ongoing observations of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. …
- … expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 - Treat, M. to Darwin, …
- … birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to …
- … of an angry pig and her niece’s ears. Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, …
- … on her experiments with fly-catching Drosera . Letter 9426 - Story …
- … 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July 1869] John Scott responds to Darwin’s queries …
- … of Wilmington. Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B . to Darwin, [12 February 1876] …
- … of his garden. Letter 4233 - Tegetmeier, W. B. to Darwin, [29 June - 7 July 1863] …
- … - Weir, J. J. to Darwin, [24 March 1868] John Weir describes experiments he is undertaking …
- … challenging ideas. Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
- … Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870] Darwin seeks Henrietta’s …
- … Letter 7123 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [March 1870] Darwin thanks his daughter, …
- … editorial criticism of a paper written by English naturalist John Lubbock. In addition to offering …
- … service. Letter 3298 - Darwin to Clarke, W. B., [25 October 1861] Darwin asks …
- … - Weir, J. J. to Darwin, [24 March 1868] John Weir describes experiments he is undertaking …
Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest
Summary
The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of Origin. Darwin got the fourth…
Matches: 15 hits
- … of scientific admirers at Down, among them Robert Caspary, John Traherne Moggridge, and Ernst …
- … to Darwin’s annoyance, however, publication was delayed by Murray, who judged that it would sell …
- … Pound foolish, Penurious, Pragmatical Prigs’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [29 December 1866] ). But …
- … able to write easy work for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). …
- … once daily to make the chemistry go on better’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). …
- … regime led to Darwin’s being teased by his neighbour, John Lubbock, about the prospect of riding to …
- … work doing me any harm—any how I can’t be idle’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 24 August [1866] ). …
- … production of which Tegetmeier had agreed to supervise ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January …
- … On 21 February Darwin received notification from John Murray that stocks of the third edition of …
- … George Henslow, the son of his Cambridge mentor, John Stevens Henslow, stayed for two days in April …
- … In June, Darwin was visited by the orchid specialist John Traherne Moggridge, whose work on the self …
- … and a revised American edition was not published until 1870. Further botanical research: …
- … out, ‘business would be totally paralysed’. Similarly, John Murray gave as a reason for his decision …
- … ‘gaieties travelling & War Bulletins’ ( letter from John Murray, 18 July 1866 ). I …
- … for the criminal prosecution of the colonial governor Edward John Eyre. In his efforts to suppress …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 24 hits
- … I omitted to observe, which I ought to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] …
- … work your wicked will on it—root leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ) …
- … Thomas Lauder Brunton, a specialist in pharmacology, and John Scott Burdon Sanderson, a professor at …
- … parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
- … it again, “for Heaven knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
- … we take notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ) …
- … in importance; and if so more places will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 …
- … our unfortunate family being fit for continuous work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September …
- … on any point; for I knew my own ignorance before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873] …
- … “he would fly at the Empr’s throat like a bulldog” ( letter from L. M. Forster to H. E. Litchfield, …
- … force & truth of the great principle of inheritance!” ( letter to F. S. B. F. de Chaumont, 3 …
- … the heavy breathing that accompanied sexual intercourse? (letter from ?, [1873?]). The Scottish …
- … with up lines; & sadness & decay with the reverse—” ( letter from William Main, 2 April …
- … with the advance of civilisation and good breeding ( letter from Henry Reeks, 3 March 1873 ). …
- … with leading physiologists such as David Ferrier and John Hughlings Jackson. Darwin declined to …
- … Instinct In February, Darwin received a letter from John Traherne Moggridge on the nature of …
- … or previously acquired knowledge” (A. R. Wallace 1870, p. 204). Moggridge suggested instead that …
- … fund was first suggested in early April by Katharine Murray Lyell in conversation with Emma Darwin, …
- … A group of Huxley’s close friends, including Hooker, John Lubbock, Herbert Spencer, John Tyndall, …
- … edition was called for. There were commercial advantages for Murray in bringing out a substantially …
- … your own power & usefulness”, citing the examples of John Stuart Mill and Charles Lyell, who …
- … from Ernst Meitzen, 17 January 1873 ). A poor-law officer, John Farr, wrote: “Faith like Species, …
- … more permanent than species are permanent” ( letter from John Farr, 7 July 1873 ). Further …
- … closer to home, when he was graced by an invitation from John Jenner Weir to act as a patron of the …
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
Matches: 26 hits
- … & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
- … Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
- … is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
- … tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
- … a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
- … data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
- … I d have been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
- … completed revisions of the ‘everlasting old Origin’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 1 June [1869] ), he was …
- … him however in his researches I would willingly do so’ ( letter from Robert Elliot to George …
- … with his noisy courting of the female in the garden ( letter from Frederick Smith, 8 October 1869 …
- … and amphibians, while Roland Trimen in South Africa and John Jenner Weir in London sent more …
- … doubted her ability to recognise the different varieties ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 February …
- … weary of everlasting males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November …
- … with much more of the same description’ ( enclosure to letter from Henry Maudsley, 20 May 1869 ). …
- … in an additional & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 …
- … orang-utan, and the bird of paradise (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ) …
- … ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 7 May 1869 , letter from W. B. Dawkins, 17 July 1869 ). He …
- … the basis for a new German edition (Bronn and Carus trans. 1870), prepared by Julius Victor Carus, …
- … own evolutionary views and critical commentary (Royer trans. 1870). Darwin complained to Hooker, …
- … and broadening the forums in which Darwinism was discussed. John Murray brought out the first issue …
- … a higher tone of Criticism than that now prevailing’. Here Murray was alluding particularly to the …
- … wish your Periodical all success’, Darwin wrote to Murray, ‘I wish it had been weekly, as then …
- … that to me would have been a pleasing sight’ ( letter to John Murray, [after 18 September 1869] ). …
- … work some hours daily’ ( letter to Anton Dohrn, 4 January 1870 ). Darwin’s health was generally …
Bartholomew James Sulivan
Summary
On Christmas Day 1866, Bartholomew Sulivan sat down to write a typically long and chatty letter to his old friend, Charles Darwin, commiserating on shared ill-health, glorying in the achievements of their children, offering to collect plant specimens, and…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Sulivan sat down to write a typically long and chatty letter to his old friend, Charles Darwin, …
- … clothes & dry blankets for the first time for weeks.’ ( Letter from B. J. Sulivan, 25 December …
- … he organised a reunion at Down with Arthur Mellersh and John Clements Wickham which Darwin …
- … coast of Patagonia, a proposal Darwin supported , and in 1870 he sent Darwin a prospectus for a …
Darwin and the Church
Summary
The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…
Matches: 20 hits
- … scientific interests. Indeed, Darwin’s Cambridge mentor, John Stevens Henslow, and his friend and …
- … & I can see it even through a grove of Palms.—’ (letter to Caroline Darwin, 25–6 April [1832] …
- … wrote to the contrary: ‘I am sorry to see in your last letter that you still look forward to the …
- … near the British Museum or some other learned place’ (letter from E. A. Darwin, 18 August [1832] …
- … it is a sort of scene I never ought to think about—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, [9–12 August] 1835 ). …
- … village. During the period roughly between 1800 and 1870, the Church of England underwent its …
- … the work of Non-conformist preachers in the village. John Brodie Innes Many of the …
- … However, what remains is cordial; in the first extant letter of the correspondence, Darwin wrote to …
- … (a local charity), which he administered from 1848 to 1869 (letter to J. B. Innes, [8 May 1848] …
- … he would make an excellent Guardian [of the Poor Fund]’ (letter to J. W. Lubbock, 28 March [1854] …
- … club the use of his own lawn for its meetings (Moore 1985; letter to J. S. Henslow, 17 January …
- … dog, Quiz, when he moved away from Down (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 December [1861] ). Darwin and …
- … to be a cross between a cow and a red deer (letter from J. B. Innes, 7 December 1868 ). Innes had …
- … Please think of my request favourably—’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 26 May 1871 ). Indeed Innes had …
- … Moses to take care of himself. Letter from J. B. Innes, 1 December 1878 This …
- … to have made off with the church’s organ fund (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 June [1868] ). So …
- … relating to the Down school and organ funds (letter to J. B. Innes, 13 January 1871 ). …
- … chapel, rather than the Down parish church (letter to J. B. Innes, 1 December 1868 ). …
- … to such strained relations that Darwin’s neighbour, John Lubbock, was forced to send a series of …
- … chapter . Edited by Francis Darwin. 3 vols. London: John Murray. 1887–8. Moore, James. 1985. …
Suggested reading
Summary
There is an extensive secondary literature on Darwin's life and work. Here are some suggested titles that focus Darwin’s correspondence, as well as scientific correspondence and letter-writing more generally. Collections of Darwin’s letters …
Matches: 8 hits
- … correspondence, as well as scientific correspondence and letter-writing more generally. …
- … 2008. Evolution: selected letters of Charles Darwin 1860–1870 . Cambridge: Cambridge University …
- … Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter . London: John Murray. Sources on …
- … of Chicago Press. Chapter 2. On the history of letter writing: Altman, J. G. …
- … and the social grounding of differentiated genres, in Letter writing as a social practice , …
- … Earle, R., ed. 1999. Epistolary selves: etters and letter-writers, 1600–1945 . Aldershot: Ashgate …
- … Press. Pp. 36–43. Some 19th-century sources on letter writing: Davies, J. …
- … Magazine 77 : 509–17. Lyell, A. 1896. English letter writing in the nineteenth century. …
Descent
Summary
There are more than five hundred letters associated with the research and writing of Darwin’s book, Descent of man and selection in relation to sex (Descent). They trace not only the tortuous route to eventual publication, but the development of Darwin’s…
Matches: 4 hits
- … . There were some signs of nerves: it was certain, he told John Murray, to ‘excite attention & …
- … to ‘ have a say so much ’. In October 1869 John Murray advertised a forthcoming ‘New Work …
- … ( Academy , 9 October 1869, pp. 15–16). By June 1870 Darwin had decided to hold back the work on …
- … to us should so much resemble one ’. Darwin saved the letter to show Henrietta . *** ‘ …
