From John Murray   2 January [1867]1

Albemarle St

Jany 2

My Dear Sir

Mr Clowes’ estimate of your MS.2 shows that it will make

Vol I. 648 pages post 8vo " II 624 pages

same size as the origin of Species—independant of contents Preface Index & any additl Chapter—3

This is clearly too much for volumes of that size—& I propose therefore—with your consent to substitute the larger (Demy) 8vo size in wch your work wd form 2 Volumes like the last Edn of Lyells Principles4

On hearing from you the Printer will be set to work

I am My Dear Sir | faithfully yours | John Murray

Ch. Darwin Esq

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to John Murray, 3 January [1867].
2
CD sent the manuscript of Variation to John Murray on 22 December 1866 (see Correspondence vol. 14, letter to John Murray, 21 and 22 December [1866], and Appendix II). Murray also refers to William Clowes of the printing firm William Clowes & Sons.
3
Murray refers to Origin. In his letter to Murray of 21 and 22 December [1866] (Correspondence vol. 14), CD said that he was sending all of the manuscript of Variation apart from the last chapter and a possible chapter on humans (see also ibid., letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1866]). ‘8vo’: octavo.
4
Murray refers to the tenth edition of Charles Lyell’s Principles of geology (C. Lyell 1867–8).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-5345,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-5345