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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
Sending Meldola tickets for the Zoological. Possibility of holiday in Ilfracombe, if they can let their house.
Uncertainty about their movements this autumn. If they cannot let the house, may take Willie away for a week or two. Meldola welcome to join them.
Inviting Meldola to visit to discuss an excursion.
Sending tickets for Zoological. Has had a pleasant week at Hurstpierpoint. Two Convolvulus Hawks caught. Willie has been sent a D. celeris. Shall be able to attend the fungus meeting of Meldola's club this year.
Asking about weight of volcanic dust particles and distance these are carried. Also wants samples of ash e.g. from Krakatoa. Needs evidence for question of dispersal of seeds by wind currents. Has agreed to give 8 lectures in Boston.
Will meet Violet on Saturday and take her to South Kensington museum. Will then meet Judd. Arrangements for journey home.
Wants a bed on Monday or Tuesday night. Have taken Willie to school. If Meldola isn't at home when ARW arrives, he can play chess Meldola's mother or Mr. Warburg quite contentedly.
Would Meldola like to go to a dance at Mrs Haywards on Tuesday, with Mrs Wallace and Violet? Regards to Meldola's mother.
About Meldola's trip to the Lake District. Has finished the Lowell lectures. Has only four political and social lectures to write. The opening lecture that he has offered to give at Loughton, is illustrated by diagrams, rather than lantern slides. Has arranged to exhibit slides to the Charterhouse boys and masters. Writing a criticism of Romanes' article on Darwin in journal of the Linnean Society, as "I consider it very imperfect." Willie's experiences at Cranleigh. ARW went to their speech day.
His reply to Romanes will appear in the Fortnightly. Thinks he has shown the entire fallacy of his whole argument, and also thinks that he has hit upon the true key to the solution. Calls Romanes' writing style tedious and long-winded.
Meldola's reply to Romanes in Nature does not go far enough. Newton calls attention to same view in Belt's Nicaragua. Darwin had commented No! No! against this in his copy. Could Meldola hold a brief for ARW at the British Association on this matter? In depth discussion of the content of his paper against Romanes in the Fortnightly.
Comments on lectures and American hotels. Has been shown around the Museum of Comparative Anatomy by Agassiz. Comments on this and on Peabody Museum of Archaeology. Approves of the arrangements which accord with the principles ARW outlined 20 years earlier i.e. a series of public rooms but bulk of material kept for research students in drawers, each region in separate rooms. Has read a paper before National Academy of Sciences (Professor Morse -President). Dined with Dr. Holmes and Professor Langley.
Description of American travels; the best thing that he has seen are the pine forests and the majestic Sequoias. Wry comments on Americans. A splendid country to travel in, but a poor country to live in. Discusses weather conditions.
Asking if the British Association keep a list of lecture engagements, as ARW would like a few engagements for the coming winter.
Enclosed ticket has been sent to ARW by Hampden. the Dialectical Society "are allowing him to expose his ignorance and absurdities." Will Meldola go and see what Hampden has to say? Busy with arrears of correspondence and reading, plus volume on Australasia. Problems with eyesight.
Will not be able to attend the "fungus foray", as have builders at work at home. Sorry that Meldola had a wasted evening with Hampden, thought the Dialectical Society meeting would lead to some "excellent fooling.".
Can Violet stay with him at Meldola's, as she wishes to attend the Converzatione with her father?.
Sending revisions of chapter on mimicry.
Is going to Newcastle next Saturday, and also has a lecture at Sale, near Manchester on Tuesday. Has started on his work on popular Darwinism.
Encloses postage for umbrella Meldola returned. Has had a breakthrough with his hybridity chapter ... "in some cases nat. select. will accumulate variations in infertility between incipient species." Thinks he has made the issue a good deal clearer than Darwin left it.