Ɛpsilon

To [William Baxter or W. W. Baxter?]   10 [October 1842 – April 1882]1

A big bottle of distilled water2

2 oz of Camphorated Spirits3

Please fill Bottle with same perfume

C. Darwin

10th

1
The date range is established and the addressee conjectured from CD’s residence in Down from September 1842 onwards (Correspondence vol. 2, Appendix II). William Baxter and his son William Walmisley Baxter were chemists in Bromley with whom CD regularly did business.
2
CD ordered distilled water for use in photography in 1857 (see this supplement, letter to [W. W. Baxter?], [after June 1857]); he also used it frequently in his botanical work in 1873 (see, for example, Correspondence vol. 21, letter from Edward Frankland, 27 September 1873).
3
Camphorated spirits (camphor dissolved in alcohol) were used for topical pain relief for sprains, bruises, and rheumatism (Savory 1836, p. 19).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13776,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13776