RECORD: Darwin, C. R. [1877]. Draft of Forms of flowers, fair copy, folio 25. Christies-2006-Lot43. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed and edited by John van Wyhe 10.2023. RN1

NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. From the auction description:
"CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN (1809-1882) Manuscript leaf on light blue paper from the draft of The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species in a secretarial hand, with corrections and interlinear insertions in Darwin's hand, foliated '25' in top right-hand corner, docketed on the verso 'Proof sheet of Darwin's (his corrections)', [s.a., c.1877], 1 page, folio (discoloration on folds and margin, small tears and chips on margin, skilfully repaired)
A LEAF FROM THE DRAFT OF THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF FLOWERS CORRECTED BY DARWIN.
Darwin commented of this work that 'No little discovery of mine ever gave me so much pleasure as the making out the meaning of hetero-styled flowers. The results of crossing such flowers in an illegitimate manner, I believe to be very important, as bearing on the sterility of hybrids' (The Autobiography, New York: 1958, p.51), and his son and collaborator Francis Darwin further noted that the book 'has a special bearing, to which the author attached much importance, on the problem of the origin of species' (p. 331). This page of the draft corresponds to pp. 38-39 of the first edition of the published text (although there were still some further minor amendments made to the draft prior to publication), which discusses legitimately and illegitimately fertilised specimens of the primula sinensis: 'Darwin viewed the sexual lives of these plants as if they were flesh-and-blood humans, prone to all the marital mistakes and inappropriate yearnings of romantic fiction. He wrote of "illegitimate unions" between flowers, and of the poor quality of the offspring, reflecting in his imagery all the undercurrents of his own and George [Darwin]'s work on first-cousin marriages. Working away in his greenhouse forcibly creating trays of bastards and infertile degenerates, he initiated a wide variety of plant matings that would have made any visiting clergyman blush' (J. Browne, The Power of Place, London: 2003, p. 442). The Different Forms of Flowers was based on researches that Darwin had undertaken in previous years, and parts had previously been published in the Journal of the Linnean Society of London; the first edition was published in an edition of 1,250 copies on 9 July 1877." Christie's Landmarks of science, 2006 lot 43.

The text of the draft draft corresponds to Forms of flowers, pp. 38-39.

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Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

File last updated 31 October, 2023