Scope and Contents

Darwin wrote regularly to his publisher, John Murray [III], for many years. The letters largely concern matters relating to his works and their reception. There are also some letters of other people concerning Charles Darwin and his publications.

Many of the letters to Murray had previously been bound together in one volume.

Scope and Contents The seminal work of naturalist Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882), 'On the origin of species by means of natural selection', was published by John Murray in 1859. Most of the works by Darwin appeared through the house of Murray and the items in this series relate to these publications.There are over 200 letters of Darwin, mainly to John Murray [III], although there are some to other correspondents. These detail the publication process of the works of Darwin, their reception and...

Scope and Contents The letters have been largely arranged in chronological order. Those that were of uncertain date have been placed at the end of the sequence.Letter of Charles Darwin to John Murray returning a receipt to Murray and thanking him for information on the success of his ‘Journal’, 2 September [1843]: folios 1-2;Receipt in respect of a payment for the entire copyright of Darwin’s, ‘Journal on Natural History and Geology during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle around the World’,...

Scope and Contents From the Series: The incoming correspondence consists of letters of individuals and companies sent to John Murray, publishers, mostly relating to the business, but also including private letters. The correspondence largely covers the period from the 1760s to the 1920s. Where enclosures exist, they have been kept with their original letters. This series contains most of the extant letters received by the publishing house up to the 1920s, but others are to be found throughout the archive. One...