Ɛpsilon

WCP3370

Letter (WCP3370.3338)

[1]

The Dell, Grays, Essex.

March 28th. 1876

Dear Mr. Macmillan1

As I think and hope you will do any thing you can to oblige me, I think it as well to let you know at once, that it would be a great convenience to me to have our agreement for the "Geog. Dist."2 so modified as to be on the basis of a single payment on publication for the whole edition; and it may enable you better to arrange this by leaving notice at once.

[2] The fact is that I shall have to pay a heavy sum within the next few weeks to settle that disagreeable Hampden lawsuit,3,4 and it will save me selling property at a disadvantage if you can pay me at once. Or if you prefer it our agreement may be on the same basis so already arranged, and you can advance me the money required (say £500) at 5 p.cent, to be repaid by [3] the several payments (including those from Germany & America) as they come due.

All I want to know is can you advance me the money on either of these places? as I should like to know as soon as possible.

I think there can be no doubt of the book being a success, as all naturalists have been wanting such a one, and it is absolutely unique in its way.

I hope too, that a condensed [4]5 Educational edition will soon be called for.

It has been my exclusive and uninterrupted work for three years, and I have every reason to think will be in more or less permanent demand. I do not think therefore you will ultimately lose if you allow me an extra share of the profits of the 1st. Ed.

All right about the binding. The printers are slow with the Index.

Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

A. Macmillan Esq.

1
Macmillan, Alexander (1818-1896). British publisher and co-founder with his brother Daniel of Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
2
. Wallace, A. R. 1876. The geographical distribution of animals; with a study of the relations of living and extinct faunas as elucidating the past changes of the Earth's surface. London: Macmillan & Co. Two volumes.
3
Hampden, John (1819-1891). British promoter of the Flat Earth theory.
4
Hampden lawsuit, John Hampden, a Flat Earth proponent, wagered £500 in a magazine advertisement to anyone who could demonstrate a curvature of a body of water. Wallace constructed an experiment along a canal that showed this, and the judge, the editor of Field magazine, declared Wallace the winner, but Hampden refused to accept it. Hampden proceeded to sue Wallace and launch a campaign to numerous societies and publications denouncing Wallace as a thief and liar. Wallace subsequently won multiple libel suits against Hampden, but the litigation cost exceeded the original wager.
5
In unknown handwriting, “WALLACE”.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP3370.3338)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Pulice, John [2013-08-13] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-08-13] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP3370,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP3370