BIB_ID
268381
Accession number
MA 6420
Creator
Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.
Display Date
Down, England, 1867? December 13.
Credit line
Purchased on the Gordon N. Ray Fund, 2007.
Description
1 item (4 pages) ; 20.1 x 12.6 cm
Notes
The body of the letter is probably in the hand of one of his children.
The year of writing does not appear on the letter, but it has been established based on the letter from Kingsley (dated December 11, 1867) that Darwin is responding to. See the published edition of the correspondence, cited below, for additional information.
On stationery with embossed letterhead: "Down. / Bromley. / Kent. S. E." Beginning in 1842, Darwin lived at Down House, located near the village of Downe (known as "Down" at the time), which was situated in the district of Bromley and the county of Kent. It is now considered part of Greater London.
The year of writing does not appear on the letter, but it has been established based on the letter from Kingsley (dated December 11, 1867) that Darwin is responding to. See the published edition of the correspondence, cited below, for additional information.
On stationery with embossed letterhead: "Down. / Bromley. / Kent. S. E." Beginning in 1842, Darwin lived at Down House, located near the village of Downe (known as "Down" at the time), which was situated in the district of Bromley and the county of Kent. It is now considered part of Greater London.
Provenance
Purchased from the London dealer Quaritch in March 2007.
Summary
Concerning the reception of his ideas at Cambridge: "It is very interesting & surprising to me that you find at Cambridge after so short an interval a greater willingness to accept the views which we both admit. I do not doubt that this is largely owing to a man so eminent as yourself venturing to speak out. The mass of educated men will always sooner or later follow those, whose knowledge they recognize on any especial study ; & this being the case I feel no doubt that views closely akin to those which I have advocated will ultimately be universally admitted;" saying that he hears that younger naturalists in England and Germany have largely adopted his views; mentioning that neither he nor Charles Lyell could find anything of merit in a recently published critique by R. M. Beverley titled "The Darwinian theory of the transmutation of species examined by a graduate of the University of Cambridge;" saying the publication of his work "Variation of animals and plants under domestication" is being delayed by the preparation of an index, but it is due to appear around the end of the year and he has told his publisher Murray to send a copy to Kingsley: "You will find the greater part quite unreadable - a mere encyclopedia of facts - but certain portions may, & I heartily hope will, interest you."
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