DARWIN, Charles Autograph letter signed, to Hugh Falconer. Downe, Bromley, Kent, March 8 [1857] 1857
8vo (201 x 125 mm), written on the first page of a bifolium; some creases from previous folds, small ink spot. £7500
Darwin writes to Falconer asking him if he could provide further details about 'Thibet Dogs', saying that the case is 'a very valuable & interesting one for me, as I know of nothing parallel to it'.
Darwin adds a ps saying that 'I enjoy so much a chat with you, that you will be sure to see me, when next in London'.
'Darwin cited Falconer's case of 'the Thibet mastiff and goat, [which] when brought down from the Himalaya to Kashmir, lose their fine wool' as support for his claim that climate influences the hairy covering of aminals (Variation 2: 278). He gave, however, a later article by Falconcer (Falconcer 1863) as his source' (The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, v 6 p 350).
Hugh Falconer (1808-1865) was a physician and palaeontologist. He served in India as superintendent of the botanic gardens at Saharunpur and Calcutta. Upon his return to England he was a frequent visitor to Down House. In 1864 he proposed Darwin for the Copley Medal for the Royal Society.
Cambridge University Darwin Correspondence Online Database 1839
£7500
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