Ɛpsilon

From W. B. Tegetmeier   17 March 1879

The Field. | 346, Strand, | London, W.C.

March 17 1879.

My dear Sir

I have not troubled you with a letter for a long time and now I am afraid you may think that I only write because I want to ask a favour.— I am about reprinting Blyth’s useful monograph on the Cranes, which is in some demand, and our numbers containing it are out of print but to save myself from loss I want 100 subscribers at 5s/– per copy— I want the honour of your name on the list.1

I am reminded of you every morning, for as I breakfast a splendid remarque copy of Rajons etching looks down benignantly upon me.— I was so much impressed with it that I subscribed for 4 copies and I think I shall have no reason to blame my judgment.2 I was much pleased to hear of the Darwinian number of Kosmos3

Pray excuse this garrulous letter but my recollection of the time when it was my priviledge to help you, however slightly, is so pleasant that I cannot help babbling on4

Believe me | Very truly & sincerely yours | W B Tegetmeier

C Darwin Esq

CD note:5

I thank you for your very friendly letter. & can assure you that I often look back with pleasure to the old days when I attended to pigeons & fowls & when you assisted me with such undeserved kindness.— As it may help you to get up your number to 100, please to put my name down for 2 copies, but you [after del ‘on’] need send only one— I heartily wish you success in all your undertakings & remain | yours very faithfully | C. D

1
The last-known correspondence between CD and Tegetmeier was in August 1875 (see Correspondence vol. 23, letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 15 August [1875]). Edward Blyth’s article on the known species of cranes was published in the Field, 28 June, 5 July, and 19 July 1873 ([Blyth] 1873). Tegetmeier was the natural history editor for the periodical.
2
Paul-Adolphe Rajon had made an etching after an 1875 portrait of CD by Walter William Ouless. CD had written that in the picture he looked like ‘a very venerable, acute melancholy old dog’ (see Correspondence vol. 23, letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 March [1875]). See plate on p. 119.
3
In February 1879, to celebrate CD’s 70th birthday, Kosmos published a special issue devoted to him (see letter from Karl Alberts, 9 February 1879).
4
Tegetmeier had assisted CD with his research for Variation and Descent, providing pigeons, undertaking experiments, and publishing requests from CD to readers of the Field for information on various topics, such as the proportion of sexes in different animals (see Correspondence vols. 6–17).
5
CD’s pencil note is a draft of his reply (letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 20 March 1879).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11940,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11940