To R. F. Cooke 22 April [1871]1
Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.
Ap. 22d
My dear Sir
You were so good as to say you wd. make enquiries about cost of the Woodbury process of printing photographs.—2 I shd. much wish soon to have some definite information.— viz cost with paper of page of size of Origin, & whether it costs more to have 2 figures on page; though this wd. rarely occur with me.— Also cost of once folded Plate, with several figures if their size allowed their introduction on one such Plate. Lastly how can the number or figure for the Plate be introduced.— I fear that I must introduce several Photographs; & the cost of illustrations will altogether be very heavy.—
I think it wd be worth while to get Estimate of the Heliotype Process, Edwards & Kidd 22 Henrietta St, for reproduction of Photographs of size of page of Origin—3 By this process common paper is printed on with Printers ink & there is no need for mounting.— I have seen some very good illustrations by this process.—
Whenever Mr. Cooper tells you of cost of his woodcuts, please inform me: he has succeeded very fairly well in one.—4
How about cheap Edit. of Origin?5
How about new Edit or Reprint of the Descent of Man?6 Please remember that I want one copy sent here.—7 Has the Times article injured sale?8
My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin.
P.S. Since the above was written I have received specimen page for new Edit.—9 The type seems clear, but lines rather close. The Cost at which volume could be sold is the great point— Could there be cheaper cover? This is better type than Lyell’s Students Manual,10 but cost seems to me chief point, so as to get wide circulation.—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Freeman, Richard Broke. 1977. The works of Charles Darwin: an annotated bibliographical handlist. 2d edition. Folkestone, Kent: William Dawson & Sons. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, Shoe String Press.
Lyell, Charles. 1871. The student’s elements of geology. London: J. Murray.
OED: The Oxford English dictionary. Being a corrected re-issue with an introduction, supplement and bibliography of a new English dictionary. Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1970. A supplement to the Oxford English dictionary. 4 vols. Edited by R. W. Burchfield. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1972–86. The Oxford English dictionary. 2d edition. 20 vols. Prepared by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1989. Oxford English dictionary additional series. 3 vols. Edited by John Simpson et al. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1993–7.
Origin 6th ed.: The origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 6th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Prodger, Phillip. 2009. Darwin’s camera: art and photography in the theory of evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Summary
Detailed questions about illustrations for [forthcoming] Expression.
Asks whether Times review has hurt sales of Descent.
The type on specimen page of Origin [6th ed.] seems clear, but lines are close. The cost is the great point for a wide circulation.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-7705
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Robert Francis Cooke
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms. 42152 ff. 285–6)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7705,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7705.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 19
