WCP1462

Letter (WCP1462.1241)

[1]

Batchian [Bacan]1

Nov. 28th. 1858

F. P. Pascoe2 Esq.

My dear Sir

It was with great pleasure I heard from Mr. Stevens3 some time since that you proposed publishing a complete list of my Aru4 longicorns, & it was with much regret I learnt from a subsequent letter that you had abandoned your intention in consequence of Mr. Thompson5 having figured a few of the finest sp[ecies]. in his Archives.6 I really think you sh[oul]d have got the start of him as you had or might have had my private coll[ection]. long before he got his sets. However that may be I trust that on the Arrival of my Dorey insects7 you will again take up the matter & by combining the Aru & Dorey coll[ectio]ns with those of the French & Dutch naturalists give us a complete synopsis of the Longicorns of the New Guinea fauna yet known, — a labour that will redound to your credit & [2] be far more interesting & useful to Entomologists than any quantity of isolated descriptions & figures of even the most magnificent species.

Allow me also to observe (& pray do not take offence at the observation) that you have placed me in the same (or a worse) position as Mr. T. has placed you, — by describing only the finer & more interesting new species from my Malacca & Borneo Longicorns leaving me a mass of minute & obscure species which I shall have the labour of working out & describing myself. This you may imagine is not an agreeable prospect & I therefore told Mr. Stevens to inform you of a rule I had long since made, not to lend any portions of my private coll[ectio]ns except to parties who would work out entire groups from one or more localities. As I look forward to publishing on my return a complete synopsis of the Col[eopter]a of the Archipelago, it is [3] necessary for me to obtain as much previous assistance as possible, — besides wh[ich]. I object altogether on principle to picking out the more interesting & well marked new sp[ecies]. from a collection, for publication. Every one however has a right to his own opinions on this matter & can follow his own course as regards the sp[ecies]. in his own collection. All I require is that my finer unique sp[ecies]. should either be taken with the entire group to which they belong or left to season my own labours on the unsavoury mass of minute obscurities.

In the Dorey coll[ection]. are a good many fine & interesting forms mostly unique or rare. The Tmesisterni are very difficult & I think it is impossible to determine them without comparison with the N[ew]. Guinea specimens in the Paris & Leyden coll[ectio]ns. T[mesisternus] septem punctatus. Bois. I found at Dorey. His fig[ure]. in "Voy[age]. of Astrolabe"8 is wretched & his locality, Amboyna [Ambon]9 (as usual) wrong.

[4]10

My small Amboyna coll[ection]. contains some lovely things & at Gilolo11 & this place I am getting lots of new & pretty species.

I remain | My dear Mr Pascoe | Yours sincerely | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

F. P. Pascoe Esq.12

1
"Batchian [Bacan]", an island in the northern section of the Moluccas (Maluku) group, Maluku province, Indonesia (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2018. Bacan. Island, Indonesia. Encyclopaedia Britannica. <https://www.britannica.com/place/Bacan> [accessed 30 December 2018]).
2
Pascoe, Francis Polkinghorne (1813-1893). British entomologist.
3
Stevens, Samuel (1817-1899). British entomologist and dealer in natural history specimens; agent of ARW.
4
"Aru longicorns", collected by ARW in 1857 in the Aru Islands, the easternmost islands in the Moluccas (Maluku) group, Maluku province, Indonesia (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2018. Aru Islands. Islands, Indonesia. Encyclopaedia Britannica. <https://www.britannica.com/place/Aru-Islands> [accessed 30 December 2018]) (see Baker, D. B. 2001. Alfred Russel Wallace's record of his consignments to Samuel Stevens, 1854-1861. Zoologische Mededelingen Leiden. 75(16): 251-341 [pp. 269-270]).
5
Thomson, James Livingston (1828-1897). American-born entomologist and author.
6
Thomson, J. 1857-1858. Archives Entomologiques ou Recueil contenant des illustrations d’insectes nouveaux ou rares, 2 vols. Paris, France: au bureau du Trésorier de la Société Entomologique de France.
7
"Dorey insects", collected by ARW in 1858 at Dorey [Manokwari], located in the Birdshead Peninsula, north-western New Guinea, capital of West Papua province, Indonesia (GitHub, Inc. 2018. papua-gazetteer / gazetter.txt. Rdmpage / papua-gazetteer. <https://github.com/rdmpage/papua-gazetteer/blob/master/gazetter.txt> [accessed 30 December 2018]) (see Baker, D. B. 2001. Alfred Russel Wallace's record of his consignments to Samuel Stevens, 1854-1861. Zoologische Mededelingen Leiden. 75(16): 251-341 [pp. 275-276]).
8
Dumont d'Urville, J. S. C.1832-1835. Voyage de découvertes de l'Astrolabe, exécuté par ordre due Roi pendant les années 1826-1827-1828-1829 sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d'Urville. Faune entomologique de l'Océan pacifique: avec l'illustration des insectes nouveaux recueillis pendant le voyage par le Docteur Boisduval, 2 parts. Paris, France: J. Tastu.
9
"Amboyna [Ambon]", an island in the Moluccas [Maluku] group, Indonesia (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2018. Ambon. Island, Indonesia. Encyclopaedia Britannica. <https://www.britannica.com/place/Ambon-island-Indonesia> [accessed 30 December 2018]).
10
This is a letter for hand delivery, perhaps returned to William Greenell Wallace, ARW's son, together with another letter from ARW to F. P. Pascoe, dated at Menado, N. Celebes, 20 July 1859 (WCP1463_L1242), or kept by him in an envelope postmarked in January [19]14 (see WCP1462_C5105).
11
"Gilolo [Halmahera]", the largest island in the Moluccas [Maluku] group, North Maluku province, Indonesia (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2018. Halmahera. Island, Indonesia. Encyclopaedia Britannica. <https://www.britannica.com/place/Halmahera> [accessed 30 December 2018]).
12
The addressee's name appears in the central third of the final page, as the letter was folded into three for delivery. Therefore, the name is placed above the final text of the letter, but has here been placed below, to keep the flow of the text as intended.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1462.1241)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Bevan, Deniz [2012-03-13] Transcription checked by O'Hanlon, Alice [2012-05-14] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Watt, Helen [2019-01-29]

Envelope (WCP1462.5105)

Envelope used to file letter, addressed to "W. G. Wallace Esq., Old Orchard, Broadstone, Wimborne" with stamp, postmarked "[?] | 8:15PM | JA 26 | 14." A note is written on front of envelope: "Two of ARW's notes to Mr Pascoe | Nov/58. | July/59"; postmark on back. [Envelope (WCP1462.5105)]

Please cite as “WCP1462,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 1 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1462