- 37
Darwin, Charles
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Autograph letter signed ("Ch. Darwin"), to [Robert] Lawson Tait. Down Beckenham, Kent: 17 January [1877]
- paper
1 page (8 x 5 in.; 204 x 127 mm), with original stamped and postmarked envelope; formerly folded, envelope soiled. In a blue cloth folding case with engraved portrait laid in.
Provenance
Sotheby's 24 July 1978, lot 225 ("Property of a Lady")
Literature
Burkhardt-Smith, Calendar of the Correspondence (1985), no. 10800 (from photocopy)
Condition
see cataloguing
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Lawson Tait (1845-1899) was a progressive gynaecologist and abdominal surgeon in Birmingham, who had read the Origin as a student in Edinburgh and riled his professors with his support for the theory. He began to correspond with Darwin in 1870, reporting observations to him, and was unafraid to argue with him. He began to try to apply the theory to the study of human disease.
Having sent Darwin an extract from his Diseases of Women (first published 1879), Darwin replies: "I sh[oul]d be glad to give any criticisms, but I have none to make & agree with what you say — There is, however, one trifling point on which I differ; viz. that I believe the high value of well-bred males is due to their transmitting their good qualities to a far greater number of offspring than can the female."