The Correspondence of Charles Darwin volume 16, Parts 1 and 2

Charles Darwin depended on correspondence to collect data from all over the world, and to discuss his emerging ideas with scientific colleagues, many of whom he never met in person. In January of 1868, Darwin’s Variation Under Domestication was published. The first printing of 1500 copies rapidly sold out and the publisher, John Murray, ordered a second printing. Responses to this new book, added to Darwin’s continuing research into sexual selection and the expression of the emotions, increased the quantity of Darwin’s correspondence to such an extent that the letters from 1868 fill two volumes. The letters he wrote and received during this year are presented here in chronological order across two volumes, with notes and appendices to put them into context, explain references, and provide information on related works.