To A. R. Wallace   5 [July 1870]1

Down | Beckenham | Kent S.E.

June 5—

My dear Wallace

As imitation & protection are yr subjects I have thought that you wd like to possess the enclosed curious drawing. The note tells all I know about it.2

yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

P.S | I read not long ago a German article on the colour of female birds, & the author leaned rather strongly to your side about nidification.3 I forget who the author was, but he seemed to know a good deal.— | C.D

LS(A)

1
The month and year are established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from A. R. Wallace, 6 July 1870. CD evidently wrote ‘June’ by mistake.
2
The drawing and note have not been found; however, see the letter from A. R. Wallace, 6 July 1870.
3
CD refers to Wallace’s theory that the colour of female birds that sat on open nests had been modified as a result of the protection gained by camouflage (see Wallace 1867a, [Wallace] 1867b, Wallace 1867c, Wallace 1868; see also Correspondence vol. 16, letter to A. R. Wallace, 15 April [1868] and nn. 3 and 4, and letter from A. R. Wallace, 4 October 1868). The German article has not been identified.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.1 Ch. Darwin … C.D 3.3] in CD’s hand

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7218,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7218