DARWIN (ERASMUS) & DARWIN FAMILY Group of correspondence from members of the Darwin family, to c...

DARWIN (ERASMUS) & DARWIN FAMILY Group of correspondence from members of the Darwin family, to cotton spinner, engineer and inventor William Strutt (1756-1830), and his wife Barbara, the majority relating to Erasmus Darwin, comprising: i) Three autograph letters signed ('E[rasmus] Darwin'), two to Mrs Strutt ('Dear Madam'), the first returning her books and asking her to read his manuscript ('...write any thing which occurs to you on the back sides of the leaves with a pencil...') and asking her to pass it on to other ladies for further opinions ('...particularly the catalogue of books which is very imperfect indeed... pray take care of it, as I have no correct copy...'), with postscript asking for the gentlemen's opinions too ('...if they will listen to such kind of stuff...'), two pages, dust-staining, remains of red wax seal, 4to, [n.p.], 30 April [17]94; the second a note delaying a walk with Mrs Darwin as '...the grass at the Priory will be too wet tomorrow for you & her to walk upon...', one page on a bifolium torn from a larger leaf, 12mo, [n.p., n.d.]; the third to William Strutt, asking to see '...the grand effects of your electric apparatus...' and gain answers to a list of questions ('...To learn if positive electricity exists in glass or on it?... I have desired Swanwick to repair my electrometer & send it to you...'), with postscript ('...Mr Cavendish combined oxygen & azote by it & produced nitrous acid. Would galvanism do so?...'), two pages, dust-staining, marks and creases, remains of red wax seal, 4to, [n.p.], 6 August 1801 ii) Two autograph letters signed ('R.W. Darwin'), to Mr Strutt ('Dear Sir'), the first enclosing a draft letter to the editor of the Monthly Magazine [present], contradicting their account that his father Erasmus Darwin had died '...in a violent fit of passion...' and that he had not had '...any kind of quarrel with any of his servants, or used any angry expressions to any persons...' on the morning of his death; the second confirming that '...on more maturely considering the subject, I thought it best to pass over in silence...' and will not publish the letter, some pencil doodles of cogs, wheels and machinery on both, 5 pages, dust-staining, creasing, tears, fraying and small holes along folds, last letter lacking part of second leaf, 4to, Shrewsbury, 23 and 30 June [1802] iii) Manuscript eulogy of ten verses titled 'Inscription to the memory of Erasmus Darwin M.D... intended for the base of an urn to be placed in a grove at the Priory'; autograph letter from Mr Edwards to William Strutt, including an obituary of Erasmus Darwin; with heavily corrected draft of another obituary in another hand, nine pages, dust-staining, creasing, tears and fraying, 4to, Ealand Lodge, 20 April 1802 and elsewhere; with autograph letter signed ('Eliz. Darwin') to William Strutt ('My dear friend'), a letter of condolence, remains of black wax seal, two pages on a bifolium, dust-staining, seal tear with loss, 4to, The Priory, 24 May 1804; and autograph letter signed ('Emma Darwin'), inviting him and the Miss Strutts to dine, one page, 4to, The Priory, 29 August 1808 (12) Footnotes: 'I WISH ON SUNDAY MORN TO SEE THE GRAND EFFECTS OF YOUR ELECTRIC APPARATUS': CHARLES DARWIN'S GRANDFATHER ON ELECTRICITY & WOMEN'S EDUCATION. In addition to maintaining an extensive medical practice and interest in public health, Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) held a wide-range of scientific interests from electricity, as shown here, to chemistry, geology, carriage design, steam engines and industrial machinery. Darwin founded the Lunar Society of Birmingham, which drew him into the company of '...innovating men of science and industry [who] were drawn together by their interest in natural philosophy, technological and industrial development... Darwin was at the forefront of these changes...' (Maureen McNeil, ODNB). He worked with the greatest industrialists and engineers of the age, including Wedgwood, Boulton and Watt and Arkwright, and it was therefore no coincidence that he should collaborate with a man such as William Strutt, the recipient of our letters. William Strutt (1756-1830), was a cotton manufacturer, with a strong interest in engineering particularly in relation to textile machinery, heating and fireproof buildings, and was described by Coleridge as '...a man of stern aspect, but strong, very strong abilities...' (J.J. Mason, ODNB). He was elected to the Royal Society in 1817 and helped Erasmus Darwin establish the Derby Philosophical Society, becoming president of the Society after Darwin's death in 1802. The year of our letter, 1794, saw the publication of Erasmus Darwin's Zoonomia. However, his wish for the comments of a female reader and his allusion to the manuscript being something that gentlemen might not be interested in, could well refer to his Plan for the Conduct of Female Education in Boarding Schools, published three years later in 1797. Education of women was much on his mind as, in the year of our letter he had helped his illegitimate daughters Susan and Mary Parker to establish a boarding school in Ashborne, for which he advised on the curriculum. Other correspondents in our group include Charles Darwin's father, Robert Waring Darwin (1766-1848), his step-grandmother Elizabeth. Provenance: William Strutt (1756-1810); his son Edward Strutt, 1st Baron Belper (1801-1880); his daughter Sophia (d.1928, married Sir Henry Denis Le Marchant, 2nd Baronet, September 1869); thence by descent. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing