WCP1852

Letter (WCP1852.4051)

[1]

5, Westbourne Grove Terrace, W.

Sept[embe]r. 30th. 1862

My dear Mr. Darwin

Many thanks for the third Ed. of the "Origin"1 which I found here on my return from Devonshire on Saturday.

I have not had time yet to read more than the "Historical Sketch"2 which is very interesting & shews3 that the time had quite come for your book.

I am now reading Herbert [2] Spencer[’]s "First Principles["],4 which seems to me a truly great work, which goes to the root of everything.

I hope you will be well enough to come to Cambridge.

I remain | My dear Mr. Darwin | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

1
Darwin, C. R. 1861. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. 3rd edition. London, UK: John Murray.
2
Darwin, C. R. 1861. 'Historical Sketch' On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. 3rd edition. London, UK: John Murray. pp.xiii-xix.
3
Archaic form of shows.
4
Spencer, H. 1862. First Principles. London, UK: Williams and Norgate.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1852.4051)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Darwin Correspondence Project [2012-10-11] Transcription checked by Shapland, Lesley [2012-10-11] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2019-03-01]

Transcription (WCP1852.1742)

[1]

To C. Darwin.) 5 Westbourne Grove Terrace, W. Sept. 30th. 1862

My dear Mr. Darwin

Many thanks for the third Ed. of the "Origin" which I found here on my return from Devonshire on Saturday.

I have not had time yet to read more than the "Historical Sketch" which is very interesting & shews[sic] that the time had quite come for your book.

I am now reading Herbert Spencer’s First Principles, which seems to me a truly great work, which goes to the root of everything.

I hope you will be well enough to come to Cambridge.

I remain | My dear Mr. Darwin | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Transcription (WCP1852.1742)]

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

Revision history

Transcription checked by Shapland, Lesley [2012-07-05] Transcribed by Catchpole, Caroline [2012-10-11] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2019-03-01]

Transcription (WCP1852.4531)

[1]

To C. Darwin.) 5 Westbourne Grove Terrace. W. Sept. 30th 1862.

My dear Mr Darwin

Many thanks for the third Ed. of the "Origin"1 which I found here on my return from Devonshire2 on Saturday.

I have not had times yet to read more than the "Historical Sketch"3 which is very interesting & shows that the time had quite come for your book.

I am now reading Herbert Spencer’s4 "First Principles"5, which seems to me a truly great work, which goes to the root of every-thing.

I hope you will be well enough to come to Cambridge.

I remain | My dear Mr Darwin | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace. [signature]

1
The third edition of On the Origin of Species was published in 1861 and most notably included an introductory appendix titled "An Historical Sketch of the Recent Progress of Opinion on the Origin of Species"
2
Devon, sometimes called Devonshire, is a county located in southwest England
3
Refers to the new introductory appendix in the third edition of On the Origin of Species (see endnote 1 above)
4
Herbert Spencer, philosopher, biologist and sociologist, lived 1820 — 1903
5
Refers to Herbert Spencer’s "First Principles of a New System of Philosophy," published 1862. It should also be noted that this was underlined later, by hand, in dark ink

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Transcription (WCP1852.4531)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Wong, Jennifer [2012-08-17] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2019-03-01]

Published letter (WCP1852.5935)

[1] [p. 147]

5 Westbourne Grove Terrace, W. September 30, 1862.

My dear Mr. Darwin,— Many thanks for the third edition of the "Origin," which I found here on my return from Devonshire on Saturday. I have not had time yet to read more than the Historical Sketch, which is very interesting, and shows that the time had quite come for your book.

I am now reading Herbert Spencer's "First Principles," which seems to me a truly great work, which goes to the root of everything.

I hope you will be well enough to come to Cambridge. I remain, my dear Mr. Darwin, yours very faithfully, ALFRED R. WALLACE.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP1852.5935)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Congerton, John [2019-12-17]

Please cite as “WCP1852,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1852