Ɛpsilon

WCP2218

Letter (WCP2218.2108)

[1]

Hillfield,

Reigate.

9th March 1869

My dear Sir,

Allow me to thank you for a copy of your work on the East India Islands1 which reached me safely through the post. The work I shall prize not only on account of its intrinsic merits which appear to me to be very great from the cursory view I have taken of it, but on account of [2] its author, the best natural history traveller & collector who ever left this country in whose doings & welfare I took the most lively interest — Your exertions in the cause of natural history will never be forgotten as long as the literature of the science lasts, & I trust you may long enjoy health to bring forward to the public the many & important [3] discoveries which you have made—

believe me | yours very truly | W Wilson Saunders2 [signature]

A. R. Wallace Esq &c

1
Wallace, A. R. 1869. The Malay Archipelago: The land of the orang-utan, and the bird of paradise. A narrative of travel, with studies of man and nature. London: Macmillan and Co. Two volumes.
2
Saunders, William Wilson (1809-1879). British insurance broker, entomologist and botanist.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP2218.2108)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2015-05-21] Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-05-21] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2020-09-15] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP2218,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2218