To John Murray   29 January [1860]1

Down Bromley Kent

Jan. 29th

My dear Sir

I had quite forgotten that my Journal was stereotyped.2 I find that I could here & there improve style, but that is not of course worth while. At p. 378 I much wish to make a few corrections, which I shall be able to do in a few days, & I will then send the M.S. & you must decide whether it is possible to introduce them.3

Very many thanks for your note— I write in great Haste to catch our early Sunday Post

Yours | C. Darwin

1
Dated by the reference to a new edition of Journal of researches.
2
John Murray published the second edition of Journal of researches in 1845 using the stereotype technique, which involves preparing fixed metallic printing plates. The text for each page was cast from a mould and was therefore unchangeable.
3
The main text of the edition was not changed by Murray. The two alterations CD wished to make in the 1860 edition were printed in a short ‘Postscript’ to the original preface (Journal of researches (1860), p. vii). The change relating to page 378 amends the discussion of Galápagos birds (see letter from P. L. Sclater, [3? February 1860]).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-2668,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-2668