WCP1724

Letter (WCP1724.1607)

[1]

5, Westbourne Terrace.

[London] W.

April 4th.[?] 1862

To P. L. Sclater Esq.1

Secretary to the Zoological Society of London.2

Dear Sir

I herewith enclose you my original proposal as to the Birds of Paradise3 which was accepted by the Zool[ogical]. Society, and an account made out in accordance therewith.

You will see that this proposal was made by me before my last journeys to New Guinea under the impression that I might obtain the birds myself, or from native traders at a low price, whereas [2] you will see by the enclosed receipt that I was obliged to pay $400 or £92. for them. I also gave up a months collecting in Sumatra in order to come to Singapore & secure the birds.

Please let me know as soon as you can whether the enclosed account is accepted.

I remain My dear Dr. Sclater | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R Wallace [signature]

1
Sclater, Philip Lutley (1829-1913). British lawyer and zoologist, specialising in ornithology; secretary to the Zoological Society of London, 1859-1902.
2
The Zoological Society of London, founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1826 to promote the science of zoology (Turnbull, C. M. 2015. Raffles, Sir (Thomas) Stamford Bingley (1781-1826). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. <https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/23010> [accessed 21 September 2018]).
3
Identified by ARW as the Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea papuana) in: Wallace, A. R. 1869. The Malay Archipelago, 2 vols. London, UK: Macmillan & Co. [vol. 2, p. 241-243], now known as Paradisaea minor Shaw, 1809 (BirdLife International. 2017. Paradisaea minor (amended version of 2016 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22706245A118814616. <http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22706245A118814616.en> [accessed 21 September 2018]).

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1724.1607)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Brunnen, Claire [2012-03-02] Transcription checked by Jenkins, Helen [2012-04-13] Transcription checked by Hill, Jenny [2012-04-17] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Watt, Helen [2018-09-21]

Please cite as “WCP1724,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 30 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1724