Ɛpsilon

To John Murray   30 December [1846]1

Down Farnborough Kent

Dec 30th

My dear Sir

Would you be so kind as to gratify my curiosity, by directing some one in your Office to inform me how many copies of my Journal up to end of the current year have been disposed of.— I heard some months ago from Mr. Lyell, that you were pretty well satisfied with the Sale, which I assure you gave me hearty satisfaction.

Is it in your power, without very great trouble, to oblige me in another way, viz to send for me for a copy of the N. American Edition of my Journal;2 I applied to my Bookseller & he told me you alone could effect this. I, of course, would pay for it.—

I should like to have a copy, & am curious to see whether they have altered any part on Slavery or other subjects.—3

Pray believe me | My dear Sir | Yours faithfully | C. Darwin

1
Dated from CD’s entry in his ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 3, Appendix II): ‘4000 copies of new Edit of Journal sold at Jan. 1. 1847.’ The letter has a note, presumably by John Murray: ‘nearly 4000’.
2
Journal of researches US ed., published in two volumes by Harper & Brothers, New York, in 1846. CD did not own the copyright of his Journal after 1845 (Freeman 1977, p. 38).
3
There was no change from the English edition, see Journal of researches US ed. 2: 302–4. CD is referring to his remarks on slavery in Journal of researches 2d ed., pp. 499–500, and possibly to the passage where he criticised Americans, ‘with their boastful cry of liberty’ (p. 500).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 of my journal] interl
2.1 it] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-1039,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-1039