Warren D. Mohr/Charles Darwin Collection: Manuscripts, 1855-1993, bulk 1874-1910

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Summary

Abstract:
Warren D. Mohr assembled this collection of material related to Charles Darwin. It contains correspondence, photographs, prints, ephemera, and clippings.
Extent:
1 unit (2 boxes); 1 unit (70 items)
Language:
The records are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Warren D. Mohr/Charles Darwin Collection: Manuscripts, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes correspondence, photographs, prints, ephemera and clippings. Highlights include an 1875 letter from Charles Darwin (with his son, William Erasmus Darwin) to Lawson Tait regarding mice tails, and a portrait taken by Henry Barraud (1811-1874) which is believed to be the last photograph taken of Darwin. There are also cartes-de-visite photographs of Darwin, as well as printed portraits and other ephemera. Also of note are three letters by Richard Owen, plus photographs of him. The collection also contains a few modern negatives from items in the Warren D. Mohr/Charles Darwin Collection of rare books at The Huntington.

Biographical / historical:

Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, revolutionized the study of evolution. Born in 1809 to a prominent family, his father Robert Darwin was a physician, and the son of English poet, philosopher and naturalist Erasmus Darwin. His mother, Susannah Wedgwood Darwin, was the daughter of industrialist-potter and abolitionist Josiah Wedgwood.

After graduating from Christ's College, Cambridge, Darwin accepted an invitation to serve as a gentleman naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle, which departed on a five-year scientific expedition to the Pacific Coast of South America on December 31, 1831. The research resulting from this voyage formed the basis of his theory of natural selection, and led to the 1859 publication of his monumental work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Darwin continued to research and publish important works on biology throughout his life. He lived with his wife and children at their home in the village of Downe, 15 miles from London. He died on April 19, 1882 and lies buried in Westminster Abbey.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Warren D. Mohr, March, 1994.
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged by type, with one oversize box:

Box 1: Correspondence-Miscellaneous Ephemera.

Box 2: Oversize, Vanity Fair Portraits–Miscellaneous Clippings

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, please go to following web site.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Warren D. Mohr/Charles Darwin Collection: Manuscripts, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website