Ɛpsilon

To Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvár   29 January 1879

Down. | Beckenham. Kent.

Jan 29— 1879.

Dear Sir

I thank you cordially for the continuation of your fine work on the Tyrolese Dolomites with its striking engravings & the maps which are quite wonderful from the amount of labour which they exhibit, & its extreme difficulty—1 I well remember more than 40 years ago examining a Section of Silurian limestone containing many corals, & thinking to myself that it would be for ever impossible to discover whether the ancient corals had formed atolls or barrier reefs; so you may well believe that your work will interest me greatly as soon as I can find time to read it.—2 I am much obliged for your photograph & from its appearance, rejoice to see that much more good work may be expected from you—

I enclose my own photograph in case you should like to possess a copy—

Believe me dear Sir. | Yours faithfully & obliged | Charles Darwin.

Copy

1
Mojsisovics von Mojsvár sent the first volume of his Die Dolomit-Riffe von Südtirol und Venetien (The Dolomite reefs of South Tyrol and Veneto; Mojsisovics von Mojsvár 1878–9) to CD in April 1878 (Correspondence vol. 26, letter from Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvár, 28 April 1878).
2
In his list of chapters, Mojsisovics von Mojsvár referred to ‘Die sinkende ostalpine Insel der Triaszeit, umrandet von Strand- und Wallriffen’ (The sinking eastern Alpine island of the Triassic, surrounded by fringing and barrier reefs; Mojsisovics von Mojsvár 1878–9, p. xii). CD published Coral reefs in 1842. There is a note by CD, dated July 1838, about the coral-rich limestones of Wenlock Edge in DAR 5: B21; the accompanying drawing is in DAR 130: 119–20. See also Correspondence vol. 2, letter to Charles Lyell, 6 [July 1841].

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11851,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11851