12th July 1858
My dear Mr Cooke.
The Rhone Glacier2 is a very fine one. Looked down upon from the top of the Mayen Wand,3 at the Grimsel4 side, it is a noble mass. It has also deep crevasses enough. The Under Grindelwald5 glacier is also fine and accessible. Ascend a sufficient distance toward the so-called Eismeer,6 you will find crevasses and shafts which display the colour beautifully. For colour the end of Rosenlaui Glacier7 is also superb. The lower ends of most glaciers afford you the means of studying the colour and the ice generally. They do not enable you to study the structure of glacier ice but that is a thing you probably don't need. The ice minarets on the Unter Grindelwald Gl., looked down upon as you descend the glacier, are splendid when the Sun shines upon them. The Mer de Glace8 and the Glacier de Bossons9 offer you ample material for study. They are within the valley of Chamouni.10 The seracs11 of the Glacier du Géant12 (one of the tributaries to the Mer de Glace) are fine & picturesque. Scarcely anything in the ice-world more so. The ice cascade of the Talèfre13 would also furnish you with the materials for study. & there are such crevasses which show the veined structures beautifully near Trelaporte.14 As far as my experience goes I think the Mer de Glace would suit your purpose as well as any. but I have not yet seen the Monte Rosa15 district. Thither I go this year. The only glacier map with which I am acquainted is that of Forbes16 of the Mer de Glace which I have found very useful.
Ever yours | John Tyndall
Jeff Weber Rare Books S1539
Edward Cooke: the catalogue from Jeff Weber Rare Books describing this letter states it is from Tyndall to a ‘W. Cooke’. However, the ‘W’ was a misreading for ‘Mr’, and the likely recipient was Edward William Cooke (1811–80), a painter and alpinist, with whom Tyndall was sharing alpine locations for painting subjects (ODNB).
Rhone Glacier: see letter 1297, n. 12.
Mayen Wand: a very steep, vertical rock wall near the Grimsel.
Grimsel: see letter 1517, n. 2.
Under Grindelwald: see letter 1312, n. 2.
Eismeer: the glacial area above the Grindelwald glaciers.
Rosenlaui Glacier: a glacier in the Swiss Bernese Alps.
Mer de Glace: see letter 1306, n. 12.
Glacier de Bossons: a large glacier on the north side of Mont Blanc.
Chamouni: see letter 1353, n. 9.
seracs: see letter 1420, n. 20.
Glacier du Géant: see letter 1436, n. 3.
Talèfre: see letter 1416, n. 6.
Trelaporte: the easternmost of the Chamonix needles of the Mont Blanc massif, overlooking the Mer de Glace.
Monte Rosa: see letter 1478, n. 22.
only glacier map with which I am acquainted is that of Forbes: see letter 1444, n. 5.
Please cite as “Tyndall1529,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on