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From Ferdinand von Hochstetter1   26 March 1868

Wien,

26 März 1868.

Hochgeehrter Herr,

Ich erinnere mich noch lebhaft und mit dankbarem Gefühle der freundlichen Rathschläge, die Sie mir vor der Abreise der Novara bei meinem Aufenthalte in London in Febr. 57 gegeben haben,2 und erlaube mir nun, Sie zu bitten, die Resultate der geologischen Untersuchungen, welche ich während dieser Reise ausgeführt habe, von mir als ein Zeichen der unbegrenzten Verehrung, die ich für Sie hege freundlichst anzunehmen. Ich habe zu dem Ende der Buchhandlung Gerold & Cie in Wien ein Exemplar des von mir bearbeiteten geologischen Theiles des Novarawerkes (3 Volumes) übergeben, um dasselbe Ihnen in meinem Namen zuzusenden, und hoffe dass die Bücher seiner Zeit richtig bei Ihnen anlangen werden.3

Mit ausgezeichneter Hochachtung | Ihr ergebenster | Dr. F. v. Hochstetter | Professor am polytechnischen Institute zu Wien

Charles Darwin Esq. | Down | England

1
For a translation of this letter, see Correspondence vol. 16, Appendix I.
2
No mention of CD’s meeting Hochstetter has been found, but CD was in London from 4 to 7 March 1857 (Correspondence vol. 6, Appendix II). The Novara expedition (1857–9) was the first Austrian scientific expedition to circumnavigate the globe. For CD’s recommendations to the Novara expedition, see Correspondence vol. 6, letter to Charles Lyell, 11 February [1857] and nn. 1 and 7.
3
The geological part of the reports of the Novara expedition consisted of two sections, geological and palaeontological. Hochstetter evidently sent only the geological part, written by him, which appeared in two volumes, titled Geologie von Neu-Seeland and Geologische Beobachtungen (Hochstetter 1864–6). CD’s copy is in the Darwin Library–Down. Hochstetter refers to the firm Carl Gerold’s Sohn of Vienna.

From Ferdinand von Hochstetter1   26 March 1868

Vienna,

26 March 1868.

Highly honoured Sir,

I still remember vividly and with feelings of gratitude the friendly advice that you gave me before the departure of the Novara during my stay in London in Febr. 57,2 and now allow me to request that you kindly accept the results of the geological investigations that I carried out on this voyage as a sign of my unbounded admiration for you. I have, therefore, delivered a copy of the geological part, written by me, of the Novara work (3 volumes) to the book store Gerold & Cie in Vienna so that they can post it to you in my name, and I hope that the books will reach you safely in due course.3

With the greatest esteem | yours most respectfully | Dr. F. V. Hochstetter | Professor at the Polytechnical Institute of Vienna

Charles Darwin Esq. | Down | England

1
For a transcription of this letter in its original German, see Transcript.
2
No mention of CD’s meeting Hochstetter has been found, but CD was in London from 4 to 7 March 1857 (Correspondence vol. 6, Appendix II). The Novara expedition (1857–9) was the first Austrian scientific expedition to circumnavigate the globe. For CD’s recommendations to the Novara expedition, see Correspondence vol. 6, letter to Charles Lyell, 11 February [1857] and nn. 1 and 7.
3
The geological part of the reports of the Novara expedition consisted of two sections, geological and palaeontological. Hochstetter evidently sent only the geological part, written by him, which appeared in two volumes, titled Geologie von Neu-Seeland and Geologische Beobachtungen (Hochstetter 1864–6). CD’s copy is in the Darwin Library–Down. Hochstetter refers to the firm Carl Gerold’s Sohn of Vienna.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6057,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6057