WCP3404

Letter (WCP3404.3372)

[1]1

Broadstone, Wimborne

Septr. 25th, 1907

Messrs. Macmillan & Co.2

Dear Sirs

I send herewith the MSS of my booklet— "Is Mars Habitable?"3 It has been delayed by several of my correspondents being away on holiday— but the delay has greatly improved it. I estimate it at about 26,500 words in all.

I hope you will bring it out as cheaply as possible, as I am sure it will then have a considerable sale. "Mars" is before the public. I had a telegram from an America (N.Y.) paper asking my opinion on Lowell's4 [2] latest observations, — I told them of my book.

Will you please send me 3 proofs, as I want to send to 2 friends who have promised to read them. As I have gone over the MSS. several times & have corrected carefully it can be set up at once in sheets. Also I should like to have at least 2 or 3 sheets at a time.

Perhaps when you see that it is not a mere expanded article, but is full of new and interesting matter, you [3] will not object to publishing it on Royalty like my other books. But I leave that to you.

Also as to the form of publication— the one thing I ask is, that it exactly matches my other book in size.

Yours very truly | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

Oval ink stamp, “G.B.M” and date stamped “26 SEP 1907”.
Macmillan, Frederick Orridge (1851-1936). Eldest son of Daniel Macmillan, a founding partner in the bookselling and publishing firm of Macmillan & Co.
Wallace, A. R. 1907. Is Mars habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's Book "Mars and its canals," with an alternative explanation. London and New York: Macmillan & Co., Ltd.
Lowell, Percival Lawrence (1855-1916). American businessman, author and astronomer.

Please cite as “WCP3404,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP3404