To C.-F. Reinwald   2 September [1879]1

Down

2 September

[Sends ‘the 2 first sheets’ of his ‘notice of Erasmus Darwin’, promising to send the rest in a few days, and referring to the current printing of Dr Krause’s article and cost of 1,000 copies]2

[…]Until you receive all you & Mr Bastien will not be able to judge whether the little book will be worth translating. I shall be pleased if it is translated. My notice is only 127 pages, & that of Dr Krause, I Conjecture about 100 pages[…]3

[…] copy of a picture of Dr. D. & I will when I hear inform you of cost of 1000 copies.—4

Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

incomplete5

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to C.-F. Reinwald, 11 September 1879.
2
Reinwald had expressed an interest in publishing a French translation of Erasmus Darwin (see letter to Ernst Krause, 5 [May] 1879).
3
This paragraph has been taken from a transcription in the catalogue entry; ‘Mr Bastien’ is an incorrect transcription of ‘Mr Barbier’. Edmond Barbier had translated a number of CD’s works into French. Erasmus Darwin included a biographical sketch by CD (pp. 1–127) and a translation of an essay by Ernst Krause (pp. 131–216).
4
A portrait was used as the frontispiece of Erasmus Darwin (see letter from V. H. Darwin, 4 April 1879, n. 3). This incomplete sentence and the valediction have been transcribed from a photograph in the sale catalogue.
5
According to the catalogue description, the original letter is complete and three pages long.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

3.1 copy of a picture] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12214F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12214F