Ɛpsilon

To Ernest Edwards    4 September 1872

Sept 4th. /72/

Dear Sir

I first heard of the H. process, through a friend of my son, & went to Henrietta St for an estimate & received a very obliging answer.1 I also applied to the Woodbury & Autotype Cos.— When I came to London in Feb. of this Year I had not definitely made up my mind whether to employ any of them, Au or W Coy then or common wood-engraving; but I thought from all that I had heard that H.s wd suit me best.2 On writing to the H. Coy. for more information, I saw you for the first time &, you called on me; many times & I was, largely guided by your information & advice in determining to have my photographs produced by your process. I must add that I invariably found you most obliging in giving me your aid in all ways, & that you took extreme trouble in removing all my objections & difficulties.

You are at perfect liberty to show this letter to anyone, as to the best of my memory it gives a strictly accurate account of my connection with you & the Coy & with you.3 | C. Darwin

ADraftS

1
Ernest Edwards was an owner of the photographic studio and printers Edwards and Kidd at 22 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London (Post Office London directory 1872). He patented the heliotype process for printing photographs (Prodger 2009, p. 109) and was probably seeking testimonials from famous clients for the recently formed Heliotype Company (photoLondon, www.photolondon.org.uk (accessed 17 June 2011)). The friend of CD’s son was probably one of Leonard Darwin’s contacts in the Royal Engineers, Claude Reignier Conder (see Correspondence vol. 19, letter from Leonard Darwin, [after 4 March 1871]).
2
CD was in London from 16 February to 21 March 1872 (CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)). CD refers to the Woodburytype and autotype processes for printing photographs. In 1871, CD deliberated over which was the best process to use for reproducing the photographs in Expression (see Correspondence vol. 19, letter to R. F. Cooke, 22 April [1871] and n. 2, and letter to John Murray, 10 May [1871] and n. 4). For more on the autotype process, see Kirby 1988, p. 9, and J. Moore 2005.
3
The photographic plates for Expression may have been the Heliotype Company’s first large commercial order (see Prodger 2009, pp. 108–9, and Kirby 1988, p. 10).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 Sept 4th. /72/] pencil
1.1 Henrietta] after del ‘the Coy about an’
1.2 & received … answer.] interl
1.2 I also applied] above del ‘and to the’
1.3 & Autotype] after del ‘Coy’
1.3 When] after del ‘There was then a great delay,’
1.3 Feb. of this Year] interl over ellipsis
1.4 whether … engraving; 1.5] interl; ‘Au or W Coy’ interl
1.5 heard that] ‘that’ after interl & del illeg
1.5 H.s] after del ‘the’
1.6 for more…& 1.7] interl
1.7 many times] interl after ‘called’ and transposed
1.7 & I] ‘&’ after del ‘& gave me all possible information’; ‘&’ above del ‘&’
1.7 your] after del ‘this’
1.8 advice] after del ‘your’
1.8 in determining to have] above del ‘to having’
1.8 photographs] above del ‘Plates’
1.9 I invariably found] interl
1.9 most] after del ‘were’, above del ‘extremely’
1.9 in all ways] interl
2.1 show] above del ‘lay’
2.1 to the best] after del ‘I beli’
2.2 you &] interl pencil
2.3 C. Darwin] pencil

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8511,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8511