Showing 1–20 of 39 items
The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 - 1913) was one of the world's most important scientists. His seminal contributions to biology rival those of his friend and colleague Charles Darwin, though he is far less well known. Together Wallace and Darwin proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection in 1858, and their prolific subsequent work laid the foundations of modern evolutionary biology, and much more besides.
Wallace made enduring scholarly contributions to subjects as diverse as glaciology, land reform, anthropology, ethnography, epidemiology, and astrobiology. His pioneering work on evolutionary biogeography (the science that seeks to explain the geographical distribution of organisms) led to him becoming recognised as that subject’s ‘father’. Beyond this Wallace is regarded as the pre-eminent collector and field biologist of tropical regions of the 19th century, and his book The Malay Archipelago (which was Joseph Conrad’s favourite bedside reading) is one of the most celebrated travel writings of that century and has never been out of print. Wallace was a man with an extraordinary breadth of interests who was actively engaged with many of the big questions and important issues of his day. He was anti-slavery, anti-eugenics, anti-vivisection, anti-militarism, anti-Imperialism, a conservationist and an advocate of woman's rights. He strongly believed in the rights of the ordinary person, was a socialist, an anti-vaccinationist (for rational reasons), and a believer in naturalistic, evolutionary spiritualism. He did not come from a privileged background and was largely self-taught. For a brief biography see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/mini-biography
The Wallace Correspondence Project (WCP) was founded by George Beccaloni in 2010. Its aims are to locate, digitise, catalogue, transcribe, interpret and publish Wallace's surviving correspondence and other manuscripts. About 5,700 letters to and from Wallace are currently known to survive, and they are held by c. 240 institutions and individuals worldwide. Wallace's letters are a biographical treasure trove, which provides a far better picture of the 'real' Wallace than his heavily edited and censored published writings (e.g. his autobiography My Life (1905) and his letters in Marchant's Letters and Reminiscences (1916)). For example, Wallace never even mentions his wife's name (Annie) in any of his published writings, including his autobiography. The letters are also key to gaining a deeper understanding of his scientific and other work: how and why his ideas arose, and how they evolved over time.
The WCP is unlocking this valuable resource by gathering all the letters together for the first time, and transcribing them so that they can be more easily read and information within them discovered using electronic searches for words and phrases. The vast amount of unpublished information which is coming to light will surely form the basis for numerous articles, scholarly papers, PhD theses and perhaps the first definitive biography.
Epsilon is being used by the WCP's as its online archive of Wallace's correspondence. It replaces our previous archive, Wallace Letters Online, which was last updated in 2015. The process of editing the transcripts and associated metadata is a work in progress which will take many years to complete. Our project’s policy is, however, to make the information we have available to users at the earliest possible opportunity, even if it is incomplete and/or imperfect. For a guide to our data, including the protocols we use for metadata and transcriptions, please see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon
House alterations; health of Mr Sharpe.
House alterations; rules for viewing reptiles; refers to enclosed card (not present).
Describes ordering a book on conic section for William.
No summary available.
No summary available.
Talks of a lecture on Land Nationalisation; William's sister Violet; Mr and Mrs Cockerell going to Jamaica; death and funeral of Mrs [Allinson]; visit to Meldola's [possibly Finsbury Technical College] various visitors to the house.
Writes about dental treatment for William, with sketch map of location of dental surgery, refers to enclosed card (not present); upcoming [College] holidays.
ARW writes of visit to Corfe with Ma, Grandma and Grandpa (ARW's wife and parents); suicide of Mrs Monk; reading of Ivanhoe.
Arrival of William's letter, his lodgings and work for Mr Laukert; method of calculation of weight and volume of water; William's sister Violet; unexpected visit from the Bishop of Salisbury ("quite a jolly old cock") and Mrs Usherwood, conversing about Stonehenge and Canon Swayne's alpine garden; encloses card (not present). William's [engineering] certificate and medal.
William's studies, fees and diet; rain delaying work on house but tiling of roof begun and emptying of cesspit for laying of drains arranged, Railway bank cuts off natural drainage, details of drainage plan; Violet going to London after Christmas, Madame Michaelis leaving Croydon to set up a (teacher) training college near a kindergarten in Notting Hill; postcard re. civil service ticket enclosed (not present).
Progress of house alterations, delays, carpenter and plumber and Charles [builder] still present, problems with toilet cistern, unfinished outdoor drains, flooded kitchen, lack of roof gutters, stairs and porch, but balcony finished and gas lighting on; Charles's wife has sold a collection of old coins.
Proposed visit by William and Mr Crump, best to delay as wallpapering not yet finished; faulty boiler design not noticed by plumbers or by Mr Rigler or Ponton, fixed by ironmonger Mr Seller; Gas stove working well.
His sister Violet's dissection of a rabbit as part of her exams; replacement of pipes and bricks to remove smell in house from drains, including sketch plan; and the appointment of "the illustrious Slugophilite ... slug catcher to Her Majesty" and Museum [curator] in Jamaica, his imminent marriage, honeymoon in Corfe and departure; the slug William found a new British variety; request for news of Crump.
Damage to William's eyes in an accident, glad he is improving after glass removed; newspaper from Stockton California with news that pioneer surgeon John Wallace had fallen and broken an arm; Monk and ARW have been building a pond and bog in the garden, details of method and materials; sending pages of Stanley's catalogue of drawing instruments; plumbing for steam pipe in house.
Death of Werner von Siemens, sending obituary [not present] from Daily News; asks for news of William's work; sister Violet's work, Ma (Annie Wallace) away; magazine club begun with 9 members, initial name "Parkstone Perambulating Periodicals" changed after objections from some members to triviality, circulating The Nineteenth Century, Cornhill, English Illustrated, New Reviews, Natural Science, Good Words, Contemporary, Magazine of Art, and Fortnightly; visit from Mr Ponton with books of pinhole photographs taken in France; recent sharp frosts, fears plant damage; Violet pleased with William's sketches; asks for details of latest stamp-album, and of William's fellow medallist and fellow lodger.
William's fees and subscription to the Electrical Institution; tickets to the Zoo; ARW recovering from illness; greenhouse plants killed by frost, boiler and pipes now fitted and Wareham engaged to stoke boiler morning and evening; snowdrops, primroses, Christmas roses and other plants in flower in garden; death of major Lang; Violet working on "Lessons on familiar animals"; ARW preparing to begin various reviews and articles; hopes [William and Portheim] getting on well with evening classes, asks for more details of [Portheim] and any news of George Silk's godson Edgar Williams who works at Siemens.
Enclosing instructions by Oldfield Thomas of the British Museum for collecting skins of small mammals with annotated notes from his letter re. collecting skeletons, for Will's use in Colorado if no telegraphy work available, Thomas recommends sending specimens to Gerrard of Camden, London, who would act as agent on commission, giving BM first choice of specimens; Violet going to Germany, European mammals wanted there because so few people collect them; list of instruments needed with sketch of small pliers; Ma (Annie Wallace) and Grandma (Mrs William Mitten) about to return (from Hurstpierpoint?); Electrical Engineer subscriptions.
Letter from William (from USA), incident with cattle; William Greenell Wallace's failure to catch many (small mammals), ARW recommends using a jar or tip-up box trap (illustrated with ink sketch), catching mice in log hut, trying any pine woods for seed and kernel eaters; instructions to get to know local ranchers and ask for details about their mortgages, crops and living; Violet observing teaching in Germany, says it is far better than in England, now staying with Rektor Schulz; young Mr Acland [Ackland?] from England also there to learn German and study education; sending a "Chronicle" containing a letter by Conway about climbing in the Andes, Hard Cash by C. Reade and three photos taken by Miss Casey of the house, one showing altered Summer-house and Loop line path (none present); has given a talk and reading at the house on the Malays for schools; sudden death of Dr Allman; William Greenell Wallace's photos of his hunting trip very good.
Writes about his visits to London and Sevenoaks (Kent); meeting of Psychical Research Society.
William's news (from the USA) that he has moved to better accommodation, ARW thinks the dogs and cats there will keep away any small mammals he wants to catch; sending a paper with news of Conway's ascent of Mount Sorata in the Andes; sending Black's Princess of Thule for William Greenell Wallace's birthday; Tommy Atkins now in a shilling edition; the author of Tomorrow (Ebenezer Howard) has sent his book describing the ideal garden city, good review in The Clarion but ARW fears the plan will be suppressed by speculators; news of Tesla's experiments with wireless telegraphy, claims he will work machinery in Paris by power from Niagara; drains at house being connected, problems, cost and method described; cleverness of "Whatnot" and "Bezique" in the The Clarion; reading Dangles? Old Cockaigne; detailed description of method of digging a trench, with planking diagram, Colonel Nichols says tunnels in India made with box frames (diagram); hopes William has got some skeletons by now. Annie's postscript (unsigned) written at right angles to the text by ARW, on the last page of the first of two folios, sends William birthday and new year greetings, and news of local Christmas shopping; plants in flower; photos from Ananda in Ceylon, hopes he will return alive; sale of Ardmore (house).