The Correspondence of Charles Darwin: Volume 4, 1847–1850

Charles Darwin (Author), Frederick Burkhardt (Edited by), Sydney Smith (Edited by)

9780521255905, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 January 1989

752 pages
24.2 x 15.2 x 4.5 cm, 1.29 kg

"What a profound gift to scholarship in general, and to history of science in particular, these magnificent volumes are making." Quarterly Review of Biology

This is the fourth volume of the complete edition of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. For the first time full authoritative texts of Darwin's letters are available, edited according to modern textual editorial principles and practice. This volume covers the first years of Darwin's study of the structure and systematics of barnacles: work that involved a worldwide search for specimens, detailed microscopic investigations, a consideration of the theoretical assumptions underlying classification schemes, and the solution of practical problems of zoological nomenclature. Darwin's convictions about the nature and origin of species influenced his observations and conclusions and provided insights that led to some remarkable discoveries. Throughout this period Darwin also maintained his involvement in major geological debates, as shown by important exchanges with Charles Lyell, Robert Chambers, James Dwight Dana, Bernhard Studer, and others. The letters to Darwin include Joseph Dalton Hooker's descriptions of his dramatic and frequently dangerous travels through previously closed regions of Sikkim and Tibet.

List of illustrations
List of letters
Introduction
Acknowledgments
List of provenances
Note on editorial policy
Darwin/Wedgwood genealogy
Abbreviations and symbols
The correspondence, 1847–1850
Appendixes
Manuscript alterations and comments
Bibliography
Biography
Biographical register and index to correspondents
Index.

Subject Areas: Evolution [PSAJ], History of science [PDX]