Ɛpsilon

WCP5066

Letter (cc) (WCP5066.5540)

[1]1

7th June [1]900

Dr. A. R. Wallace

Dear Sir,

We are pleased to hear from Mr. Williams2 that he has now arranged everything with you as to blocks3 &c. He is very grateful to you for the kindness you showed him yesterday,4 and for the readiness with which you fell in with his views, where possible.

We have noted that you are agreeable to our issuing the book at 5/- [5 shillings], in consideration of our adding the coloured photograph, which will, we think, greatly help the sales. We are sorry we cannot afford the coloured map (Brighton — Worthing)5 you suggest. We are afraid that the book will, as it is, cost no[t] so much that our [2] profits will be infinitesimal for at any rate a considerable time. But we have written to Messrs Bar<tholom>ews6 [MS damaged] as to a block (black & white), which, if we can get it, will serve the practical purposes.

We fear that the new book will carry no American copyright[.] Your and our interests will be turned to profit, we hope, by sales of the English book.

We are, dear Sir, | Yours very truly | [no signature]

1
The letter bears no heading or signature, but originates from ARW’s London publisher Swan Sonnenschein & Co., founded in 1878 by William Swan Sonnenschein (1855-1931).
2
Not positively identified. This is probably Francis Williams (full name given in WCP5058), the Board School editor referred to in WCP5054 (31 October 1899), in which Swan Sonnenschein & Co. first broach the possibility to ARW of producing the Supplementary Board School Reader: Wallace A. R. (1901). The Wonderful Century Reader London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co., published in November 1901. This was an abridged version of the 4th Edition (February 1901) of The Wonderful Century; Its Successes and Its Failures, first published in 1898. 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.".
3
The engraved boxwood block or woodcut dominated early Victorian book illustration. Electrotyping later replaced woodcuts for the production of fine artwork in books. In the second half of the century, most woodblock engravings were actually printed from electrotypes.
4
A visit from Mr. Williams to ARW to resolve any outstanding issues had been suggested by the author in his letter of 1 June 1900 (WCP5065).
5
Towns on the coast of Sussex in southern England.
6
John Bartholomew and Son was a long-established map-publishing company founded in 1826, originally based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (cc) (WCP5066.5540)]

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 “WCP5066,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP5066