From D. Appleton & Co.   23 February 1872

New York

Feb 23/72

Dear Sir

We have the pleasure to hand you the a/c of sales of yr books, showing a balance of £427.13.81   The difference charged being the cost of casts if Mr Murray had furnished them & the sum we were obliged to pay him makes some difference in the a/c. As we are unable to pay the percentage of 10% on the gross price unless you can secure the casts through yr London publisher we urge you to insist upon this with all future books— We have printed & sold abt. 2000 of yr old Journal.2

Very faithfully & truly | D. Appleton Co.

We have instructed Mr Layton3 our agent to send you a cheque for above amount

Sales by D Appleton & Co to Feby 1/71 of “Darwin’s Origin of the Species” for a/c of Charles Darwin

On hand last a/c 521
Printed since 500
Feby 1. 1871
On hand 502
Sold to date 519 @ $2 5% $51.90
Sales to Feby 1/72
On hand Feby 1/71 502
Printed since 4000
Feby 1/72
On hand 645
Sold to date 3857 $2 @ 5% 385.70

“Descent of Man” to Feby 1/72

Printed vol 1. 12.000
   "       "  2. 11.000
Feby 1/72
On hand 2335
given away 225
sold to date 20.440 @ $2 10% 4.088.–
Forward $4.525.60
Forward $4.525.60
On June 1/71 Paid in London by C. Layton £200 value
in Currency $1.109.91
Cost of Composition & Stereotyping here over the cost of Casts of
the English plates 1.100 2.209.91
$2.315.69
Value in Sterling Exch 11014 Gold 11012
£427.13.8

CD annotations

Verso of first page: ‘Origin 80£ or 78 | (80 Origin)’ pencil;
‘428
22
350 ’
ink
1
The payment is recorded in CD’s Account books–banking account (Down House MS) for 22 March 1872, broken down as £350 for Descent and £78 for the last edition of Origin (Origin 2d US ed.).
2
John Murray was CD’s English publisher. The reference is to Journal of researches US ed. (1871). CD had declined to have Descent US ed. and Origin 2d US ed. printed from stereotypes (see Correspondence vol. 17, letter from Charles Layton, 23 December 1869). Stereotyping was a process in which movable type was set up and used to make a mould, which could then be used to cast a metal plate for printing.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8222,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8222