From Osbert Salvin   12 May 1863

Dear Sir,

I was very glad to receive your letter this morning giving me your ideas about a collection from the Galapagos Is.¹ Your Journal is one of the few books I carry abroad with me & your account of those Islands has long given me a wish to visit them.² I have but lately returned from a naturalizing tour with M^r. F. Godman in Guatemala & we are now engaged working up our collections or at least a part of them & intended to return to Costa Rica or S. America, or perhaps both, early next year.³ Mentioning this the other evening to D^r Hooker he suggested the Galapagos as a point better worth attention and he so far convinced me that I think both M^r. Godman & myself have made up our minds to go there.⁴

Our object will be purely a Scientific one and as we look for no pecuniary return would be able to pay attention to all and every branch of Natural History no matter how dull or unattractive the species.

I would willingly start at once but our Central American collections will occupy some time but I reckon on being able to leave about the end of Feb. so as to get to the Islands before the rainy season sets in.—

There may be some things amongst our Central American Collections interesting to you, should you like to see them I should be most happy to shew them to you any day you might be in town.—

Believe me | Yours very faithfully | Osbert Salvin.

C. Darwin Esq^re.