WCP5054

Letter (cc) (WCP5054.5528)

[1]1

31st Octo[ber]. [1]899

D[octo]r. Alfred Russel Wallace.

Dear Sir,

It has been suggested to us that a very nice Supplementary Board School Reader2 might be made from your Wonderful Century,3 part I, if the language were here & there simplified, and the whole condensed into a volume of the right length. Would you have any objection to our doing this? We would of course employ a skilled Board School editor,4 & his MS. could be submitted to you, if you desire it. This could in no way adversely affect your desire to have the book in its entirety passed on to the public — in fact, it would to some extent further that end, as some children who read the book in the school might go on later to the big book.

It is very likely, we think, that a member of Board School might [2]5 use the book as an alternative Reader, & the attempt seems to us well worth making, and would not in any way damage the sales of the complete work, the "market" being a wholly independent one. Please let us know your views. If you object to the idea as prejudicing, in your opinion, your royalties, would you like to convert your royalties on the Board Sch[oo]l. book into a cash payment? If so, of what amount?

We are, dear Sir, | Yours very truly | Swan Sonnenschein & Co[mpany]. L[imi]t[e]d.

1
The letter bears no heading, but originates from ARW’s London publisher Swan Sonnenschein & Co., founded in 1878 by William Swan Sonnenschein (1855-1931) a son of Adolphus Sonnenschein, a teacher and writer originally from Moravia, and his first wife Sarah Robinson Stallybrass. In the light of the hostility to Germans during the First World War William Swan Sonnenschein changed his surname to Stallybrass for the remainder of his life, as did some of his family.
2
Victorian Board Schools were the first state-run schools, intended to make education available for all children. Local Boards could raise funds from a rate, build and run non-denominational schools where existing voluntary provision was inadequate, pay the fees of the poorest children and create a by-law making attendance compulsory between ages 5-13. An abridged version of the 4th Edition (February 1901) of The Wonderful Century; Its Successes and Its Failures, first published in 1898 was published in November 1901: Wallace A. R. (1901) The Wonderful Century Reader London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co.
3
Wallace A. R. (1898). The Wonderful Century; Its Successes and Its Failures London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co.
4
This is probably Francis Williams (full name given in WCP5058). In WCP5055 (19th January 1900) Swan Sonnenschein & Co. sent ARW a copy of the Reader with a suggested author’s preface drafted by Mr. Williams and an offer for him to visit ARW to provide an explanation. In WCP5056, Mr. Williams is mentioned by name as having "a very exact knowledge of the School Board requirements and the tendencies of the teachers.".
5
The page is stamped "918".

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (cc) (WCP5054.5528)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2018-08-15]

Please cite as “WCP5054,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP5054