B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S S U M M E R 2 0 2 3 7 CHARLES DARWIN ARRANGES TO RECEIVE A DEERHOUND PUPPY WHILE "SO KNOCKED UP WITH CORRECTING PROOFS" OF DESCENT OF MAN FROM A BREEDER ENAMORED WITH ORIGIN OF SPECIES—EXCELLENT 1870 AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY DARWIN 7. DARWIN, Charles. Autograph letter signed. Down, Beckenham, Kent: Oct 5, [1870]. One leaf of cream letterhead, measuring 5 by 8 inches, penned on recto for one page. WITH: original envelope, addressed in Darwin's hand, postmarked from Down on verso. $22,500 Interesting 1870 autograph signed letter written by Charles Darwin to his friend, long-time correspondent, author and dog breeder George Cupples, regarding a puppy Cupples had promised to send Darwin, in which Darwin references working on the proofs of Descent of Man—an amazing letter with strong association to Charles Darwin's greatest works. The letter, written entirely in Darwin's hand on his personal stationery and dated "Oct 5 [1870]," reads, in full: "My dear Mr. Cupples, I am so knocked up with correcting proofs, that I have (with all my family who are at home) resolved to leave home for 7 or 8 days & shall start early (before post time) on Wednesday the 12th—It wd be so dreadful if the dog was to be sent o# & no one to walk him in London, this I write to tell you our plans. In haste, Yrs vy sincerely, Ch. Darwin." Accompanied by the original envelope, penned in Darwin's hand, postmarked from Down on verso. George Cupples (1822-91) was a Scottish journalist and amateur breeder of Scotch Deerhounds. He read Darwin's Origin of Species and became particularly fascinated with the chapters on selective breeding, hypothesizing that he could simulate the phenomenon with his own dogs. Cupples in turn wrote to Darwin following the publication of Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication in 1868, feeling that their correspondence would be mutually bene!cial, given his own expertise in canine behaviors and breeding and Darwin's knowledge of selective breeding and species evolution. This marked the beginning of a ten-year correspondence, culminating in part with Cupples sending Darwin a Scottish Deerhound puppy from his kennels in November 1870, just a month after this letter was written. In his own book entitled Scotch Deer-Hounds and Their Masters (1893), Cupples quoted from Darwin's Origin of Species and Variation of Animals and Plants, in regards to selective breeding and its connection to animal domesticity. Faint marginal toning to letter; minor evidence of prior mounting along right edge on verso. Signature bold and clear.
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