WCP5079

Letter (cc) (WCP5079.5557)

[1]1

15 M[ar]ch [1]901

D[octo]r. Alfred Russel Wallace.

Dear Sir,

We are much obliged by your two negatives, which we have at once sent to the block-makers2.

Mr Williams3 is still in America. The proofs which you went over were posted to him at the time; but we have been unable to get them back — hence the delays. We could not, after trying, deal with the various points you raised, all of which had been, we thought, previously dealt with by him, & which he alone could form an opinion about. The only proofs we have been able to receive[?] are some first [words missing from scanned page] [2] Mr. Williams [3 words illeg.]

Before venturing to trouble you with [the] matter again, we wanted, if possible to get back your corrected proofs. We have written over & over again, & have now small hopes of recovering the proofs. Would it involve much trouble on your part, to again point out what it was you objected to in the book as planned by Mr. Williams? When we purchased the various electro[type]s,4 we were clearly informed by Mr. Williams that every one of them had been authorized by you.

Yours very truly | [illegible signature]

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).
2
Refers to preparation of printing blocks for illustrations for 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.
3
Not identified. ‘Mr. Williams’ was involved with the selection of illustrations for the Reader (see and WCP5067) but did not return proofs as requested and eventually disappeared (see WCP5081).
4
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.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (cc) (WCP5079.5557)]

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 “WCP5079,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 11 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP5079