Charles Darwin envoie des planches pour la traduction de ses ouvrages parus chez Smith & Elder

Charles Darwin informe son correspondant que son éditeur Smith & Elder est disposé à lui fournir des copies en chromolithographie des 3 planches pliées, ainsi que des stéréotypes des gravures sur bois. Mais il doute que ces planches, avec des légendes en anglais, puissent servir à la traduction. Il envoie, par le même courrier, un jeu complet des fiches avec quelques erreurs corrigées.

"The enclosed letter will show you that Mess. Smith & Elder are willing to supply you with copies produced by chromo-lithography of the three folded plates, together with stereotypes of the wood cuts, at cost price. It is however rather doubtful whether the plates with English names will serve for the translation. I send by this post a complete set of sheets with a few errata corrected [...]".

[Smith & Elder éditèrent les premiers ouvrages de Darwin : The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. Being the First of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, under the Command of Capt. Fitzroy, during the Years 1832 to 1836 (1842) ; Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands Visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, together with some Brief Notices of the Geology of Australia and the Cape of Good Hope (1844) ; Geological Observations on South America (1846) ; Geological Observations on Coral Reefs, Volcanic Islands and on South America (1851)].