WCP3898

Letter (WCP3898.3818)

[1]

Parkstone, Dorset.

April 20th. 18911

My dear Hooker2

No doubt the man who wrote to you is G.T. Bettany M.A., B.Sc.3, who is editing the Mineron Library of Famous Books for Ward Lock & Co. They republished my "Amazon & Rio Negro"4, — also "Darwin's Journal"5 — "Galton's "South Africa"6 [sic] &c. &c. As they published the volumes at 2/— retail they cannot afford to pay much, & get uncopyrighted [2] books as much as possible. They gave me £50 for my copyright, & said they would have to sell 20,000 copies before they got it back. Galton gave them his free. I dare say they would prefer giving you a number of copies of the book to paging much money.

D[r]. Allman7 has been very well during the winter but recently his asthma has been troubling him [3] again. Mrs. Allman is very poorly, as she has been for a long time, & her friends seem to think there is little prospect of her getting better.

Believe me | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

P.S. I am busy filling up gaps in my garden & stocking a small glass covered garden with choice half-hardy lumbers &c.

A.R.W. [signature]

1
Under the text, "1891" is a bold stamp that reads, "5".
2
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 — 10 December 1911), English botanist and second director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew after his father, William Hooker.
3
George Thomas Bettany (1850 — 1891), historian and author of Life of Charles Darwin, published 1887.
4
A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro : with an account of the native tribes, and observations of the climate, geology, and natural history of the Amazon Valley, written by naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and published 1889.
5
Journal and Remarks, 1832-1835, written by naturalist Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 — 19 April 1882) as the third volume of Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, first published 1839.
6
Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa, written by naturalist Sir Francis Galton (16 February 1822 — 17 January 1911), first published 1853.
7
Dr. George James Allman (1812 — 24 November 1898), Irish naturalist, member of the Royal Society and President of the Linnean Society.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP3898.3818)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Seo, Veri [2013-08-13] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-08-13]

Transcription (WCP3898.4267)

[1]

PARKSTONE, DORSET.

April 20th, 1891.

My dear Hooker

No doubt the man who wrote to you is G.T.Bettany M.A., B.Sc., who is editing the Minerva Library of Famous Books for Ward Lock & co. They republished my "Amazon & Rio Negro",— also "Darwin's Journal" — Galton's "South Africa" &c.&c. As they publish the volumes at 2/- retail they cannot afford to pay much, and get un-copyrighted books as much as possible. They gave me £50 for my copyright, and said they would have to sell 20,000 copies before they got it back. Galton gave them his free. I daresay they would prefer giving you a number of copies of the book to paying much money.

Dr Allman has been very well all through the winter but recently his asthma has been troubling him again. Mrs Allman is very poorly, as she has been for a long time, and her friends seem to think there is little prospect of her getting better.

Believe me, Yours very faithfully, | ALFRED R. WALLACE

P.S. I am busy filling up gaps in my garden and stocking a small glass covered garden with choice half-hardy climbers &c.

A.R.W.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Transcription (WCP3898.4267)]

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 “WCP3898,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP3898