To ?   [February 1838 – February 1841?]1

[Asks correspondent if he would prefer the President’s2 signature alone or with those of other scientific men.]

The date range is conjectured from the probability that the letter relates to CD’s role as secretary of the Geological Society of London, a post he held formally from February 1839 until February 1841, although he ceased to be active from March 1840 (see Correspondence vol. 2, letter to the President and Council of the Geological Society of London, 24 March 1840 and n. 3).
The presidents of the Geological Society of London during CD’s secretaryship were William Whewell and William Buckland.
The original letter is complete and is described in the sale catalogue as being one page long.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13864,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13864