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To Francis Galton   1 January [1855]1

Down Farnborough Kent

Jan 1st—

My dear Galton

I received your kind present yesterday. I always thought your idea of your Book2 a very good one, & that you would do it capitally, & from what I have seen my forethought is, I am sure, quite justified. I hope that your volume will have a large sale, but what I fully expect is that it will have a long sale, & if you save from some disasters half-a-dozen explorers, I feel sure that you will think yourself well rewarded for all the trouble your volume must have cost you.

We are looking out, but I fear shall hardly succeed, for a House in London for a month.3 If we succeed you will see us soon in Victoria Stt. Thank you very much for your kind offer of a bed, but my Brother’s House is always my home in London.—

My wife joins in very kind remembrances to yourself & Mrs. Galton4 & believe me Dear Galton | Yours very truly | C. Darwin

1
Dated on the basis of CD’s reference to Galton 1855 (see n. 2, below).
2
Galton 1855. CD’s copy is in the Darwin Library–CUL. According to the Publishers’ Circular, 16 January 1855, p. 27, the book was issued in the period 30 December to 15 January.
3
The Darwins took a house at 27 York Place, Baker Street, London, from 18 January to 15 February 1855 (‘Journal’; Correspondence vol. 5, Appendix I).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.5 disasters] before del ‘for’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-1627,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-1627