Ɛpsilon

To [Alfred Malherbe?]   [1862–5?]1

My dear Sir

I have no hesitation in expressing my belief that you are very well fitted from the experience gained at the Zoolog [coll] to fill the place of Librarian,—2 I have invariably found you most obliging in giving me assistance of all kinds.— Your great Monograph of the Picidae— from your remarkable zeal & your knowledge of Natural History. The work has been highly spoken of by every Naturalist considered to competent to form a judgment on the subject—

With my best wishes for your success I remain | My dear Sir | Yours very truly | Ch Darwin

ADraftS

1
The date range and the addressee are conjectured from the mention of a monograph on Picidae (woodpeckers). The significant work of this era on the woodpeckers was Alfred Malherbe’s Monographie des picidées, published in four volumes in 1861 and 1862 (Malherbe 1861–2). Malherbe died in 1865.
2
The post that CD’s correspondent was applying for has not been identified.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 are] pencil above del ‘would be’
1.1 very] added
1.1 from … [coll] 1.2] interl
1.2 the experience] ‘the’ above del ‘your’
1.2 Librarian] before del ‘in any Library’
1.4 great] above del ‘great’
1.4 remarkable] interl above del ‘extraordinary’; before ‘great’ ink del ink ‘energy &’ pencil del ink
1.4 your knowledge] ‘your’ added ink
1.5 History.] before del ‘&’
1.5 been] above del ‘I believe most’
1.5 every] altered from ‘everyone’
1.5 Naturalist considered to 1.6] interl
1.6 competent to form] pencil above del ‘capable of forming’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6524,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6524