Ɛpsilon

From R. F. Cooke   6 August 1875

50A, Albemarle St. | W.

Augt. 6. 1875

My dear Sir

We have posted a copy of the “Descent” to Mastowski.1

If you are writing to Professor Canestrini, it would be well to remind him, that before we can supply Electrotypes & Photographs for another of your works, he or his friends must pay for what they had before, as we have in vain sought payment for the enclosed.2

I have seen Messrs. Clowes & they are preparing a specimen page for you to see of the new edition of Variations.

We must make it uniform with Insectivorous Plants I suspect.3

Yours faithfully | Robt. Cooke

Chas. Darwin Esq

1
Ludwik Masłowski had partially completed a translation of Descent into Polish (Masłowski trans. 1874–5), and had asked for a copy of the second edition (see letter from Ludwik Masłowski to [John Murray?], 25 July 1875 and n. 5).
2
See letter from Giovanni Canestrini, 29 July 1875. Canestrini had asked for permission to translate Expression into Italian. The enclosure has not been found, but John Murray was seeking payment for electrotypes supplied for Canestrini’s unpublished translation of the first edition of Variation (see letter from R. F. Cooke, 26 May 1875 and nn. 1 and 3).
3
William Clowes & Sons printed Variation 2d ed. The first edition, published in 1868, was the only one of CD’s books printed in demy octavo; the second edition was in the smaller crown octavo format used for all CD’s other works published by John Murray, including Insectivorous plants, which had been published on 2 July 1875 (see ‘Journal’ (Appendix II); Freeman 1977, pp. 122–3).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10109,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10109