WCP2036

Letter (WCP2036.1926)

[1]1

Monica Cottage

Hunstanton

Norfolk.

May 5. 1880.

Dear Mr. Wallace —

I herewith return your proofs2, and can heartily endorse all you advocate. I remember talking with Ramsay3 about old lands in 1878 and he remarked that he had never seen a rock in Europe or America that did not show proofs of the vicinity of land.

[2] I have written out a few notes, some original, some not. On the proof I have taken the liberty to correct a few litterals4 [sic] which you have probably already noticed. These are in pencil. I ventured to put C for chalk when it is the Chalk and have left it chalk when it is merely that substance. Also I have put Cretaceous where the term is geological & not lithological, as when [3]5 it refers to America.

If my notes are of any use I shall be very pleased, as indeed I shall always be if I can be of any service to you —

Yours ever truly | Sydney B. J. Skertchly [signature]

[4]6

1
Page numbered 107 in pencil in top RH corner. "A. R. Wallace, Esq[ui]re" is written at the bottom of the page on the left, in the author's hand.
2
Wallace A.R. (1880) Island Life: Or, The Phenomena and Causes of Insular Faunas and Floras, Including a Revision and Attempted Solution of the Problem of Geological Climates. London, Macmillan & Co. (Assumed — this is the only first edition by ARW published in 1880).
3
Ramsay, Andrew Crombie (sometimes spelt Ramsey) (1814-1891). Scottish geologist.
4
A literal error is a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind.
5
Page numbered 108 in pencil in top RH corner
6
Skertchly written by hand on page alongside British Museum stamp.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2036.1926)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2015-05-07] Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-05-07] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10]

Please cite as “WCP2036,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 4 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2036