FITZROY (ROBERT) Autograph letter signed ('Robert FitzRoy') to P.L. Simmonds ('Sir'), Portsmouth...

FITZROY (ROBERT) Autograph letter signed ('Robert FitzRoy') to P.L. Simmonds ('Sir'), returning a letter from Mr Parry [not present] and assuring him '...from my own personal knowledge of that gentleman some years ago that he is as honourable and accurate a witness with respect to facts as could be desired...', mentioning the first Lieutenant of the Superb, Arthur Mellersh, ending by informing him that '...Mr C. Darwin lives at Down near Croydon – or – at Shrewsbury...', 4 pages on a bifolium, dust-staining and marks, creased at folds, small tear lower edge, loss to first and last page, remains of tape where removed from album, 8vo (180 x 111mm.), Portsmouth, 22 February [18]49 Footnotes: 'MR C. DARWIN LIVES AT DOWN NEAR CROYDON': FITZROY & HIS COMPANIONS FROM THE BEAGLE. Robert FitzRoy (1805-1865) commanded the Beagle in 1828 on an expedition to chart the coast of southern South America, and returned to Tierra del Fuego in 1831 accompanied by Charles Darwin. Whilst they lived 'in reasonable harmony' for the five-year voyage with many shared interests and a common purpose, it was a somewhat testy relationship at times and, once back on dry land, '...their divergent views became more apparent, especially on religious matters and evolutionary theory...'. The relationship soured and Darwin expresses in his correspondence how glad he was when FitzRoy left London in 1839. By the time Fitzroy had returned from his eventful governorship of New Zealand in 1846, however, Darwin looked back on the voyage and indeed FitzRoy himself, with nostalgia (see Darwin Correspondence Project online). Accompanying them both on the voyage was Arthur Mellersh (1812-1894), mentioned here, who served as a junior officer on HMS Beagle between 1825-36 and served off the coast of China, the Caribbean and in South America before his retirement in 1864. Later correspondence from Mellersh to Darwin reveals he continued to collect specimens for him on his travels and shot the only Beagle specimen of the 'Patagonian bird'. He also remained in touch with FitzRoy, noting in November 1862 that he looked 'worn' after the arduous task of working on his book. The recipient of our letter, Peter Lund Simmonds (1814-1897), was a prolific journalist and statistician, '...recognized by contemporaries for his adept use of statistics in the management of colonial resources...' in particular in relation to the harvesting of and trade in coral (Anne M. Ricculli, Reading Coral in the Age of Darwin, PhD Thesis, 2018, online). When he wrote our letter he was proprietor of Simmonds' Colonial Magazine and Foreign Miscellany (1844-1849) and one of the founding members of the Meteorological Society of London, formed in June 1848. He was made an honorary life member of the Royal Society in 1862, was awarded their silver medal three times and successfully proposed Karl Marx for membership of the society (David Greysmith, ODNB). His interest in coral was shared by Darwin, who wrote The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. Being the first part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N. during the years 1832 to 1836 in 1842, which may have led him to ask FitzRoy for Darwin's address. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing