Birthday greetings.
Showing 1–20 of 22 items
The Charles Darwin Collection
The Darwin Correspondence Project is publishing letters written by and to the naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882). Complete transcripts of letters are being made available through the Project’s website (www.darwinproject.ac.uk) after publication in the ongoing print edition of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin (Cambridge University Press 1985–). Metadata and summaries of all known letters (c. 15,000) appear in Ɛpsilon, and the full texts of available letters can also be searched, with links to the full texts.
Birthday greetings.
Glad CD is pleased by his "Erasmus Darwin". Was not able to obtain book by Anna Seward [Memoirs of the life of Dr Darwin (1804)]. Could CD check relevant passages for errors? Would be great honour if CD could arrange English translation. Wants to enlarge essay into book.
Had doubts about excerpt from Anna Seward’s book [Life of Dr Darwin]. Sends slightly enlarged version of his "Erasmus Darwin". Includes footnote denouncing Seward’s book.
Finds that part 2 of ED’s Botanic garden, 2d ed. (1790), appeared before part 1 (1791).
Thanks for sketch of Erasmus Darwin by John Dowson [see Erasmus Darwin, p. iv]; would like to incorporate this information into MS. Previous biographers of Erasmus Darwin had insufficient knowledge of what appeared in his works.
Wants to finish revision of MS on Erasmus Darwin before Dallas begins translation. Has discussed possible German edition with Carl Alberts.
Sends first part of MS of Erasmus Darwin.
Has found useful criticism of Anna Seward in J. G. Lockhart’s Life of Sir Walter Scott.
CD should regard MS as a draft and correct anything that seems incorrect or questionable. Asks biographical questions about Dr Darwin. Can CD give information about origin of family name?
Will wait for CD’s preliminary essay before proceeding with German edition [of Erasmus Darwin]. Regards CD’s essay as the principal attraction. Would like to finish German edition by end of July.
Thanks for answers to questions [in 12032].
Has ordered the new book by Butler [Evolution, old and new (1879)]. It may make EK’s own essay superfluous.
Samuel Butler seems not even to have read works of Erasmus Darwin. Quotes only passages quoted by other authors. Thorough account now more necessary than ever.
CD’s preliminary notice should be incorporated in German edition completely unchanged, though some annotation is needed to explain matters unfamiliar to German readers.
Would like to have article by CD for Kosmos.
Hopes to send last part of his work soon. CD may lay it aside or print only parts of it. Wants to add account of evolutionists before Erasmus Darwin. Superficial account by Samuel Butler makes this necessary.
Has completed his MS and sent it to Dallas.
Has ignored Butler’s criticism of natural selection and corrected only his views of Buffon and Goethe.
It would be best to drop EK’s text from book and quote only certain portions of it.
Has received printed sheets from CD. Hopes CD does not intend to delete anything. EK comments on value of his own sketch for Erasmus Darwin.
Hopes CD can excuse article he wrote in response to a review of Grant Allen’s book [The colour-sense (1879)].
Rejects proposal that CD’s sketch appear as a supplement or appendix to his own. Offers alternative suggestions. Proposes title-page for German edition of Erasmus Darwin.
Regards his part only as material from which CD can select for English edition of Erasmus Darwin.
Regrets dropping comment on Erasmus Darwin’s evolutionary theory.
Asks for translation of British plant names.
Asks CD not to mention in introduction that EK’s part has been reduced.
Acquaintances say principal contents of Seward book should be recounted in German edition of Erasmus Darwin.
Will CD check MS for errors?
Thanks for printed sheets and MS. Intends that German version should follow the English, but will add notes to clarify unfamiliar material for German readers.
Thanks for list of plant names.
Has returned corrected sheets [of Erasmus Darwin] to Dallas. [CD’s note forwards this letter to a third person, presumably W. S. Dallas.]
Sends corrections. Printing of German edition has not yet begun.
Charles Reinwald wishes to print only CD’s sketch. French hostility to Germans the reason.
Gustav Jäger and Robert Caspary no longer on title-page of Kosmos.
Shocked by Karl Alberts’ behaviour in dealing with Murray. Will write to ask him what it means. Thanks for arranging matters with Reinwald.
Thanks for English edition [of Erasmus Darwin]. John Murray has not answered letters of German publisher. Questions CD about persons mentioned in book, in order to annotate German edition.