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Charles Robert Darwin: juvenilia and Darwin family letters, c.1818-1959

 Class
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS DAR 271

Scope and Contents

A collection of juvenilia and Darwin family letters. Includes early letters and school notes from a young Charles Darwin, letters from Charles and Emma Darwin to their son, Francis Darwin, letters to Francis from his first wife, Amy Ruck, and family letters and drawings from Bernard Darwin.

Dates

  • Creation: c.1818-1959

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

From the Fonds:

Some material in the Darwin archive is not available because it is unfit for production and access to some very fragile material may only be possible with support from specialist conservation staff. Please see descriptions for further details.

Extent

1 archive box(es)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

The collection is arranged according to the original bundles in which they were kept by the family.

Custodial History

The papers in this collection belonged to Ursula Mommens (1908-2010), a great granddaughter of Charles Darwin. The collection was initially placed on deposit in the Library in two installments. The first, comprised of Charles's earliest letters and other manuscripts, was deposited by Ursula in March 1992. The remaining items in the collection, including Francis's letters to his father, were deposited in late 2010 by Ursula's son Philip Trevelyan. The papers were acquired in lieu of inheritance tax in October 2014.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers in DAR 271 belonged to Ursula Mommens. She deposited part of DAR 271 in 1992. The rest were deposited by Philip Trevelyan in 2010. Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the University of Cambridge, 2014.

General

Catalogued by Dr Emma Saunders.

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
West Road
Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom