To J. S. Henslow   16 September [1842]

[12 Upper Gower Street]

Sept 16th

My dear Henslow.

I bequest to your Museum,1 —a parcel of Paints with wh. Fuegians colour their bodies.2 Two spears with which the spear Porpoises Fish, Otters & Guanaco, &c— And a Pacific Dolphin Hook

Ever yours | C. Darwin

Henslow held a ‘Marquee museum’ on the grounds of the Hitcham rectory on special occasions. Beginning in 1850 these museums were presented in connection with horticultural shows (Jenyns 1862, pp. 93–6; Russell-Gebbett 1977, p. 81).
CD later asked to have the paint returned for analysis by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg. For its composition see Correspondence vol. 3, letter from C. G. Ehrenberg, 13 March 1845.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 with] interl
1.3 Pacific] after del ‘So’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-642,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-642