To J. V. Carus   21 January 1874

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Jan 21 1874

My dear Sir

I am very glad to hear of a new ed. of the Descent of Man, but it will be impossible for you to have corrected sheets for some time.1 I have revised the style largely, & have altered & added to many parts. I hope that it will be considerably improved. I shall have it stereotyped so that it will never be corrected again.

As far as I can judge, the sheets will not be ready for the printer for 6 or 8 weeks; & then there will be the correcting the proofs & printing off the sheets. There will be a few new woodcuts. As far as I can see (which is blindly) it will not be possible to send you corrected sheets for about 3 months.2

At present my work of revision is stopped for a week or 2 by a new edition of my small book on Coral Reefs   I think perhaps this book wd sell in Germany if translated; & if Messrs Smith & Elder wd supply stereotype plates at a moderate profit to them.3

I am extremely glad to hear a pretty good account of your health; & that Edinburgh suited you so well.4

When you come to England I hope that you will be able to pay me a visit.

Out of curiosity & vanity I should like to hear (some time) how many copies have been sold in Germany, of my Descent of man, Expression & other books.5

My dear Sir | yours very sincerely. | Ch. Darwin

LS(A)

1
See letter from J. V. Carus, 19 January 1874 and n. 1. CD was preparing a new edition of Descent.
2
CD sent the first part of the new edition of Descent to the printers in March 1874 and received the first proofs in May (see letters to J. V. Carus, 8 March [1874], and 23 May [1874]).
3
CD was preparing a new edition of Coral reefs, published by Smith, Elder & Co. (see letter to Smith, Elder & Co, 8 January 1874). Carus translated Coral reefs in 1876 (Carus trans. 1876).
4
Carus suffered from frequent bronchial complaints, but his condition had improved in the summer of 1873, when he was teaching in Edinburgh (see letter from J. V. Carus, 19 January 1874).
5
Carus sent the sales figures with his letter of 15 March 1874.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.3 (which is blindly)] parentheses over commas, in CD’s hand

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9252,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9252