DARWIN CHARLES: (1809-1882) English Naturalist. A remarkable, fine A.L.S., C. Darwin, two pages, 8vo, Down ...

DARWIN CHARLES: (1809-1882) English Naturalist. A remarkable, fine A.L.S., C. Darwin, two pages, 8vo, Down, Beckenham, Kent, 13th May n.y. (1872) to his son, Francis Darwin ('My dear Frank'). Darwin asks his son to try and persuade Abraham Dee Bartlett 'to do me a great favour (& if he will, report the result to me)', explaining that he would like 'to show to the Porcupine a live snake, observe whether the sight of the snake will make it rattle the quills on the tail, as Mr. Bartlett showed me that the Porcupine does when angered' and concluding that the letter can be read to Mr. Bartlett. A letter of interesting content for its discussion of animals and with good association. Some very light, extremely minor age wear and two small, light stains to the right edge of the pages, not affecting the text or signature. About VG Sir Francis Darwin (1848-1925) British Botanist. Darwin worked with his father on various experiments and later edited The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (1887). Abraham Dee Bartlett (1812-1897) British Taxidermist and an expert on captive animals who served as superintendent of London Zoo, thereby becoming a prominent observer of animal life. The present letter is published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin and Abraham Dee Bartlett's reply to Darwin is also recorded. On 16th May 1872 he wrote to the naturalist informing him that 'I turned a Snake loose into the yard with 2 of Grotes Porcupines, one of them shook his tail at the sight of the Snake, the other did not, but gnashed his teeth and appeared much inclined to bite the snake. I then tried the Crested Porcupine he did not shake his tail, but set his spines up and I thought he would attack the snake with his teeth…….I believe from what I saw that the Porcupine if hungry and in a wild state met with a snake he would kill and eat it'. Darwin's letter was evidently written during research for The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals which was published in 1872 as his third major work of evolutionary theory. Autograph letters by Darwin discussing experiments with animals, as the present letter does (and conjures up an exciting scene in one's mind, as confirmed by Bartlett's observations), rarely appear on the market and are highly desirable.