charles darwin and victorian visual...

CHARLES DARWIN AND VICTORIANVISUAL CULTURE

Although The Origin of Species contained just a single visual illustration,Charles Darwin’s other books, from his monograph on barnacles in theearly 1850s to his volume on earthworms in 1881, were copiously illustratedby well-known artists and engravers. Jonathan Smith explains how Darwinmanaged to illustrate the unillustratable – his theories of natural selection –by manipulating and modifying the visual conventions of natural history,using images to support the claims made in his texts. Moreover, Smithlooks outward to analyze the relationships between Darwin’s illustrations andVictorian visual culture, especially the late Victorian debates about aesthetics,and shows how Darwin’s evolutionary explanation of beauty, based on hisobservations of color and the visual in nature, were a direct challenge to theaesthetics of John Ruskin. The many illustrations reproduced here enhancethis fascinating study of a little known aspect of Darwin’s lasting influenceon literature, art, and culture.

jonathan smith is Professor of English at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He has published widely on nineteenth-century literature andscience, and is the author of Fact and Feeling: Baconian Science and theNineteenth-Century Literary Imagination (1994).

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-13579-5 - Charles Darwin and Victorian Visual CultureJonathan SmithFrontmatterMore information

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cambridge studies in nineteenth-century

literature and culture

General editorGillian Beer, University of Cambridge

Editorial boardIsobel Armstrong, Birkbeck College, London

Kate Flint, Rutgers UniversityCatherine Gallagher, University of California, Berkeley

D. A. Miller, Columbia UniversityJ. Hillis Miller, University of California, IrvineDaniel Pick, Queen Mary University of London

Mary Poovey, New York UniversitySally Shuttleworth, University of Sheffield

Herbert Tucker, University of Virginia

Nineteenth-century British literature and culture have been rich fields for interdisci-plinary studies. Since the turn of the twentieth century, scholars and critics have trackedthe intersections and tensions between Victorian literature and the visual arts, politics,social organisation, economic life, technical innovations, scientific thought – in short,culture in its broadest sense. In recent years, theoretical challenges and historiographi-cal shifts have unsettled the assumptions of previous scholarly synthesis and called intoquestion the terms of older debates. Whereas the tendency in much past literary criticalinterpretation was to use the metaphor of culture as ‘background’, feminist, Foucauldian,and other analyses have employed more dynamic models that raise questions of powerand of circulation. Such developments have reanimated the field. This series aims toaccommodate and promote the most interesting work being undertaken on the fron-tiers of the field of nineteenth-century literary studies: work which intersects fruitfullywith other fields of study such as history, or literary theory, or the history of science.Comparative as well as interdisciplinary approaches are welcomed.

A complete list of titles published will be found at the end of the book.






CHARLES DARWIN AND

VICTORIAN VISUAL

CULTURE

JONATHAN SMITH






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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

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© Jonathan Smith 2006

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Contents

List of illustrations page ixAcknowledgments xxiNote on the texts xxiii

1 Seeing things: Charles Darwin and Victorian visual culture 1

Darwin’s illustrations 3

Darwin, Ruskin, and Victorian visual culture 20

Word and image in science 33

2 Darwin’s barnacles 44

Think developmentally, illustrate transcendentally 45

The scientific and cultural life of Darwin’s barnacles 50

Depictions of the seaside in the 1850s 68

The visual natural theology of Philip Gosse’s seaside books 77

3 Darwin’s birds 92

Darwin and Gould 95

The Birds of Great Britain as a visual response to Darwinism 99

Depicting sexual selection 114

Ruskin’s Love’s Meinie and the rejection of the Descent 125

4 Darwin’s plants 137

The significance of Darwin’s botany 138

Darwin’s botanical illustrations 143

Popularizing Darwin’s botany: physiological aesthetics 160

Ruskin’s Proserpina and the response to physiological aesthetics 165

5 Darwin’s faces I 179

The Expression and the fine art tradition 182

Answering Bell 186

Physiognomy and phrenology 198

vii






viii Contents

6 Darwin’s faces II 214

Darwin and the photographic image 215

Ruskin and photography 227

Acting and expression 228

Darwin and Victorian caricature 233

7 Darwin’s worms 244

Worm castings and the grotesque 249

Geology, archaeology, and the picturesque 253

Ruskin and the grotesque 270

Ruskin and the picturesque 275

Geology and landscape: scientific naturalism and thescientific imagination 278

Notes 284

Bibliography 319

Index 341






Illustrations

1.1 Diagram from Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species(London: Murray, 1859), between pages 116 and 117. Universityof Michigan Special Collections Library. page 7

1.2 “Tetraclita: Elminius.” Plate xi from Charles Darwin, AMonograph of the Sub-Class Cirripedia; The Lepadidae; or,Pedunculated Cirripedes (London: Ray Society, 1851).University of Michigan Libraries. 11

1.3 “The Bearded Titmouse.” Thomas Bewick, A History of BritishBirds, vol. i (Newcastle, 1797), 246. University of MichiganLibraries. 12

1.4 “Mecistura Caudata.” John Gould, The Birds of Great Britain(London, 1862–73), vol. ii, plate 28. University of MichiganSpecial Collections Library. 13

1.5 (a) “Orchis mascula.” William Curtis, Flora Londinensis(1777–98), vol. i, fasc. 2, plate 62. University of MichiganLibraries. (b) John Lindley, The Vegetable Kingdom, 3rd edn.(London: Bradbury and Evans, 1853), 173. University ofMichigan Libraries. 14

1.6 “That Troubles Our Monkey Again.” Fun, 16 November 1872.Columbia University Library. 21

1.7 “Exactly So!” Fun, 26 January 1873. Columbia UniversityLibrary. 22

1.8 Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man andAnimals (London: Murray, 1872), plate i, fig. 1. University ofMichigan Libraries. 23

2.1 Wood engraving of a stomapod crustacean and a maturepedunculated barnacle from Charles Darwin, A Monograph ofthe Sub-Class Cirripedia; The Lepadidae; or, PedunculatedCirripedes (London: Ray Society, 1851), 28. University ofMichigan Libraries. 47

ix






x List of illustrations

2.2 (a) Plate ix and (b) plate x from John V. Thompson, ZoologicalResearches and Illustrations (Cork: King and Ridings, 1828–34).Courtesy of the Yale University Library. 54

2.3 (a) “Larva. First Stages” and (b) “Larva. Last Stages.”Platesxxix and xxx from Charles Darwin, A Monograph of theSub-Class Cirripedia; The Balanidae (London: Ray Society,1854). University of Michigan Libraries. 55

2.4 (a) “Anelasma: Ibla” and (b) “Ibla: Scalpellum.” Plates iv and v

from Charles Darwin, A Monograph of the Sub-ClassCirripedia; The Lepadidae; or, Pedunculated Cirripedes(London: Ray Society, 1851). University of Michigan Libraries. 57

2.5 “Alcippe Lampas” and (b) “Cryptophialus.” Plates xxii andxxiii from Charles Darwin, A Monograph of the Sub-ClassCirripedia; The Balanidae (London: Ray Society, 1854).University of Michigan Libraries. 59

2.6 Hablot K. Browne (“Phiz”), detail from cover illustration ofmonthly parts of Charles Dickens’s Little Dorrit (London:Bradbury and Evans, 1855–57). University of Michigan SpecialCollections Library. 68

2.7 William Powell Frith, Life at the Seaside (Ramsgate Sands)(1854). Oil on canvas. The Royal Collection C© 2004, HerMajesty Queen Elizabeth II. 70

2.8 John Leech, “Common Objects at the Seaside.” Punch 35

(21 August 1858): 76. University of Michigan SpecialCollections Library. 72

2.9 “Seaside Sirens.” Wood engraving, 1855. Getty Images. 73

2.10 Hablot K. Browne (“Phiz”), “The Sea Side.” The IllustratedLondon News 29 (2 August 1856): 131. University of MichiganSpecial Collections Library. 74

2.11 William Dyce, Pegwell Bay, Kent – A Recollection of October 5th,1858 (1859–60?). Oil on canvas, 63.5 × 88.9 cm. Tate Gallery,London. By courtesy of the Tate Gallery, London/ArtResource, New York. 76

2.12 “The Plumose Anemone &c.” Plate v from Philip HenryGosse, The Aquarium, 2nd edn. (London: Van Voorst, 1856).University of Michigan Libraries. 78

2.13 (a) Pen and watercolor sketch by Philip Henry Gosse ofAiptasia couchii for Actinologia Britannica. (b) Lithographicproof plate for plate v of Philip Henry Gosse’s ActinologiaBritannica. From “British Sea-Anemones and Corals: Original






List of illustrations xi

Sketches and Drawings in Colour by Philip Henry Gosse andhis Correspondents, 1839–1861,” items 44 and 56 on foliopages 25 and 34. The Horniman Museum London. 86

2.14 (a) Lithographic proofs of individual figures and (b) thelithographic proof plate itself for plate iv of Philip HenryGosse’s Actinologia Britannica. From “British Sea-Anemonesand Corals: Original Sketches and Drawings in Colour byPhilip Henry Gosse and his Correspondents, 1839–1861,” items28 and 55 on folio pages 15 and 33. The Horniman MuseumLondon. 87

2.15 (a) “Dotted Siponcle. Sea-Cucumber.” Plate 3 from PhilipHenry Gosse, A Year at the Shore (London: Strahan, 1865),facing page 28. University of Chicago Library. (b) Pen andwatercolor sketch by Philip Henry Gosse for plate 3 of A Yearat the Shore. From “British Sea-Anemones and Corals:Original Sketches and Drawings in Colour by Philip HenryGosse and his Correspondents, 1839–1861,” item 69+. TheHorniman Museum London. 89

2.16 “Green Opelet. Orange-Disk Anemone.” Plate 9 from A Yearat the Shore (London: Strahan, 1865), facing page 78.University of Michigan Libraries. 90

3.1 Introductory vignette. Thomas Bewick, A History of BritishBirds, vol. i (Newcastle, 1797) p. v. University of MichiganLibraries. 100

3.2 Golden Oriole. John Gould, The Birds of Europe (London,1832–37), vol. ii, plate 71. Kalamazoo College Library. 101

3.3 “Erythacus Rubecula.” John Gould, The Birds of Great Britain(London, 1862–73), vol. ii, plate 48. University of MichiganSpecial Collections Library. 102

3.4 “Red-tailed Buzzard.” John James Audubon, The Birds ofAmerica (New York, 1840–44) i:50, plate 7. University ofMichigan Libraries. 104

3.5 (a) Great Horned or Eagle Owl. John Gould, The Birds ofEurope (London, 1832–37), vol. i, plate 37. Kalamazoo CollegeLibrary. (b) “Bubo Maximus.” John Gould, The Birds of GreatBritain (London, 1862–73), vol. i, plate 30. University ofMichigan Special Collections Library. 105

3.6 “Falco Aesalon.” John Gould, The Birds of Great Britain(London, 1862–73), vol. i, plate 19. University of MichiganSpecial Collections Library. 106






xii List of illustrations

3.7 (a) “Enneoctonus Collurio.” John Gould, The Birds of GreatBritain (London, 1862–73), vol. ii, plate 15. University ofMichigan Special Collections Library. (b) Red-backed shrike.Partially-colored sketch for John Gould, The Birds of GreatBritain (London, 1862–73), vol. ii, plate 15. Gould Drawing26, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas. 107

3.8 “Lanius Excubitor.” John Gould, The Birds of Great Britain(London, 1862–73), vol. ii, plate 13. University of MichiganSpecial Collections Library. 108

3.9 Pencil and watercolor sketch with annotations of (a) moorhenand (b) moorhen chick. (c) “GallinulaChloropus” John Gould, The Birds of Great Britain (London,1862–73), vol. iv, plate 85. Gould Drawings 266 and 262,Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.Moorhen plate courtesy of the University of Michigan SpecialCollections Library. 109

3.10 (a) “The Cuckoo.” Thomas Bewick, A History of British Birds,vol. i (Newcastle, 1797), 104. University of Michigan Libraries.(b) “Cuculus Canorus.” John Gould, The Birds of GreatBritain (London, 1862–73), vol. iii, plate 67. University ofMichigan Special Collections Library. 111

3.11 “Cuculus Canorus. Young [cuckoo] ejecting its nestlingcompanions.” Gould, The Birds of Great Britain (London,1862–73), vol. iii, plate 68. University of Michigan SpecialCollections Library. 113

3.12 “The Ruff or Machetes pugnax.” Figure 37 from CharlesDarwin, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex,2 vols. (London: Murray, 1871) ii:42. University of MichiganSpecial Collections Library. 118

3.13 (a) Spotted bower-bird. John Gould, The Birds of Australia(1840–48), vol. iv, plate 8. Kenneth Spencer Research Library,University of Kansas. (b) “Der Kragenvogel (Chlamyderamaculata).” Figure 46 in Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man,and Selection in Relation to Sex, 2 vols. (London: Murray, 1871)ii:70. University of Michigan Libraries. 119

3.14 (a) Satin bower-bird. John Gould, The Birds of Australia(1840–48), vol. iv, plate 10. Kenneth Spencer Research Library,University of Kansas. (b) Satin bower-bird. Pencil andwatercolor sketch. Gould Drawing 34, Kenneth SpencerResearch Library, University of Kansas. 121






List of illustrations xiii

3.15 “Tetrao cuido: male.” Figure 39 in Charles Darwin, TheDescent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 2nd edn. (NewYork: Burt, 1874), 422. University of Michigan Libraries. 124

3.16 “Polyplectron chinquis, male.” Figure 51 in Charles Darwin,The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 2nd edn.(New York: Burt, 1874), 450. University of Michigan Libraries. 125

3.17 “Side-view of male Argus pheasant, while displaying before thefemale.” Figure 52 from Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man,and Selection in Relation to Sex, 2nd edn. (New York: Burt,1874), 452. University of Michigan Libraries. 126

3.18 (a) “Outer tail-feather of Scolopax frenata” and “Outertail-feather of Scolopax javensis.” Figures 42 and 43 fromCharles Darwin, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relationto Sex, 2 vols. (London: Murray, 1871) ii:64. University ofMichigan Special Collections Library. (b) Outline (A) andProfile (B) of wing-feather of a robin. Figure 1 from JohnRuskin, Love’s Meinie. The Library Edition of the Works of JohnRuskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols.(London: Allen, 1903–12) xxv:37. University of MichiganLibraries. 131

3.19 (a) “Peacock’s Feather with enlarged filaments.” Plate v fromJohn Ruskin, Love’s Meinie. The Library Edition of the Works ofJohn Ruskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39

vols. (London: Allen, 1903–12) xxv:39. University of MichiganLibraries. (b) “Feather of Peacock . . .” Figure 53 from CharlesDarwin, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex,2 vols. (London: Murray, 1871) ii:137. University of MichiganSpecial Collections Library. 133

3.20 “Decorative Plumage. Peacock.” Plate v from John Ruskin,The Laws of Fesole. The Library Edition of the Works of JohnRuskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols.(London: Allen, 1903–12) xv:411. University of MichiganLibraries. 135

4.1 “The rock-pigeon, or Columba livia.” Figure 17 from CharlesDarwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants UnderDomestication (London: Murray, 1868). University of MichiganLibraries. 144

4.2 (a) The English Carrier. B. P. Brent, The Pigeon Book, 3rd edn.(1871), 25. University of Michigan Libraries. (b) “EnglishCarrier.” Figure 19 from Charles Darwin, The Variation of






xiv List of illustrations

Animals and Plants Under Domestication (London: Murray,1868). University of Michigan Libraries. 144

4.3 “Orchis mascula.” James Edward Smith, English Botany(1790–1814), vol. 9, plate 631. University of MichiganLibraries. 146

4.4 “Orchis mascula.” Figure i from Charles Darwin, On theVarious Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids areFertilised by Insects, and the Good Effects of Intercrossing(London: Murray, 1862), facing p. 18. University of MichiganLibraries. 147

4.5 “Drosera rotundifolia.” Figure 2 from Charles Darwin,Insectivorous Plants (London: Murray, 1875), 4. University ofMichigan Libraries. 148

4.6 “Diagram showing the movement of the upper internode ofthe common pea.” Figure 6 from Charles Darwin, TheMovement and Habits of Climbing Plants, 2nd edn. (London:Murray, 1875). University of Michigan Libraries. 149

4.7 “Fructification: The sexual apparatus of Orchis mascula . . .”Tab. 3 from Francis Bauer, Illustrations of Orchidaceous Plants(London: James Ridgway, 1830–38). C© 1995–2004 MissouriBotanical Garden. 153

4.8 “A. Pollen-mass of O. mascula.” Figure ii from CharlesDarwin, On the Various Contrivances by which British andForeign Orchids are Fertilized by Insects, and the Good Effects ofIntercrossing (London: Murray, 1862), 15. University ofMichigan Libraries. 154

4.9 “Primula veris.” Figure 1 from Charles Darwin, The DifferentForms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species (London:Murray, 1877), 15. University of Michigan Libraries. 155

4.10 “Section of the flower of an orchid.” Figure xxxii from CharlesDarwin, On the Various Contrivances by which British andForeign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and the Good Effects ofIntercrossing (London: Murray, 1862), 292. University ofMichigan Libraries. 156

4.11 (a) Schematic representation of the different “unions” possiblein long- and short-styled flowers of the common cowslip.(b) “Diagram of the flowers of the three forms of Lythrumsalicaria.” Figures 2 and 10 from Charles Darwin, The DifferentForms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species (London:Murray, 1877), 139. University of Michigan Libraries. 159






List of illustrations xv

4.12 “Outline of a Leaf of Burdock.” Figure 13 of John Ruskin,Proserpina. The Library Edition of the Works of John Ruskin, ed.E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols. (London:Allen, 1903–12) xxv:304. University of Michigan Libraries. 169

4.13 “Primula acaulis.” William Curtis, Flora Londinensis(1777–98), vol. ii, fasc. 6, plate 16. C© 1995–2004 MissouriBotanical Garden. 171

4.14 “Contorta Purpurea. Purple Wreath-Wort.” Plate xxiii in JohnRuskin, Proserpina. The Library Edition of the Works of JohnRuskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols.(London: Allen, 1903–12) xxv: facing page 341. University ofMichigan Libraries. 172

4.15 “Flower of Contorta Purpurea.” Figures 41 and 42 of JohnRuskin, Proserpina. The Library Edition of the Works of JohnRuskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols.(London: Allen, 1903–12) xxv:546. University of MichiganLibraries. 173

4.16 “Four Stages in the Young Life of a Primrose.” Figure 7 of JohnRuskin, Proserpina. The Library Edition of the Works of JohnRuskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols.(London: Allen, 1903–12) xxv:261. University of MichiganLibraries. 174

4.17 Charles Allston Collins, Convent Thoughts (1851). Oil oncanvas. 84 × 59 cm. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. 177

5.1 Fear. Charles Bell, The Anatomy and Philosophy of Expression asConnected with the Fine Arts, 3rd edn. (London: Murray, 1844),165 and 166. Yale University, Harvey Cushing/John HayWhitney Medical Library. 188

5.2 Rage. Charles Bell, The Anatomy and Philosophy of Expressionas Connected with the Fine Arts, 3rd edn. (London: Murray,1844), 176 and 178. Yale University, Harvey Cushing/John HayWhitney Medical Library. 189

5.3 Devotion. Charles Bell, The Anatomy and Philosophy ofExpression as Connected with the Fine Arts, 3rd edn. (London:Murray, 1844), 104. Yale University, Harvey Cushing/John HayWhitney Medical Library. 189

5.4 Comparison of the face of a monkey (a) and an ox (b) withthat of a human of comparable characteristics. Plate i fromJohan Caspar Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy, trans. ThomasHolcroft, 2nd edn., 3 vols. (London: Symonds, 1804) ii:154.






xvi List of illustrations

University of Chicago Library, Special Collections ResearchCenter. 191

5.5 (a) Weeping child. Charles Bell, The Anatomy and Philosophyof Expression as Connected with the Fine Arts, 3rd edn. (London:Murray, 1844), 155. Yale University, Harvey Cushing/John HayWhitney Medical Library. (b) Photographs of crying children.Plate i from Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions inMan and Animals (London: Murray, 1872). University ofMichigan Special Collections Library. 192

5.6 Photographs of smiling faces. Plate iii from Charles Darwin,The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (London:Murray, 1872). University of Michigan Special CollectionsLibrary. 193

5.7 Photographs of individuals with placid and grievingexpressions. Plate ii from Charles Darwin, The Expression ofthe Emotions in Man and Animals (London: Murray, 1872).University of Michigan Special Collections Library. 194

5.8 “Horror and Agony, copied from a photograph byDr. Duchenne.” Figure 21 from Charles Darwin, TheExpression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (London:Murray, 1872), 306. University of Michigan Special CollectionsLibrary. 195

5.9 “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” Black on yellow WedgwoodJasper slave medallion. By courtesy of the Wedgwood MuseumTrust, Staffordshire, England. 197

5.10 (a) “Dog approaching another dog with hostile intentions.”Figure 5 from Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotionsin Man and Animals (London: Murray, 1872), 52. University ofMichigan Special Collections Library. (b) Edwin Landseer,Alexander and Diogenes (1848). Oil on canvas, 112.5 × 142.6 cm.Tate Gallery, London. Courtesy of the Tate Gallery,London/Art Resource, New York. 206

5.11 “Chimpanzee disappointed and sulky.” Figure 18 from CharlesDarwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals(London: Murray, 1872), 141. University of Michigan SpecialCollections Library. 207

5.12 (a) “Observativeness Large – Mr. Charles Darwin . . .” and(b) “Persistenacity very Large,” “Persistenacity very Small,”“Persistenacity Small – A prairie Wolf, or Coyote,” and“Persistenacity Large – A Bull-dog.” Joseph Simms, Nature’s






List of illustrations xvii

Revelations of Character; or Physiognomy Illustrated (New York,1879), 192 and 193. Hesburgh Library, University of NotreDame. 210

5.13 (a) “Profile of a Luchatze negro woman, showing deficientbridge of nose and chin, and elongate facial region andprognathism.” (b) “Face of another negro, showing flat nose,less prognathism and larger cerebral region. From SerpaPinto.” (c) “Esquibo Indian women, showing the followingpeculiarities: deficient bridge of nose, prognathism, no waist,and . . . deficiency of stature through short femur.” Figures 5, 6,and 7 from E. D. Cope, “Evolution of Human Physiognomy,”Knowledge 4 (1883):168–69. University of Michigan Libraries. 212

6.1 (a) “From a photograph of an insane woman, to show thecondition of her hair.” Figure 19 from Charles Darwin, TheExpression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (London:Murray, 1872), 141. University of Michigan Special CollectionsLibrary. (b) Madness. Charles Bell, The Anatomy andPhilosophy of Expression as Connected with the Fine Arts,3rd edn. (London: Murray, 1844), 180. Yale University,Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library. 220

6.2 (a) Sneering lady and crying, frowning child. Plate iv fromCharles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man andAnimals (London: Murray, 1872). University of MichiganSpecial Collections Library. (b) Photograph by A. D.Kindermann of a crying, frowning child. Darwin Papers,Cambridge University Library, dar.53.1:c.122. By permissionof the Syndics of Cambridge University Library. 224

6.3 Disdain. Plate v, figure 1 from Charles Darwin, The Expressionof the Emotions in Man and Animals (London: Murray, 1872).University of Michigan Special Collections Library. 229

6.4 (a) Indignation. Plate vi, figure 2 from Charles Darwin, TheExpression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (London:Murray, 1872). University of Michigan Special CollectionsLibrary. (b) Resistance. Figure 32 from Johann Jacob Engel,Ideen Zu Einer Mimik (1785), J. J. Engel’s Schriften, vol. vii

(Berlin: Mylius, 1804), facing p. 290. University of MichiganLibraries. (c) Resistance. L.-J. Moreau, ed., L’Art de Connaıtreles Hommes par la Physionomie (Paris, 1820), vol. iii, plate 120,figure 11. Copy of an original in the Department of SpecialCollections, Kelvin Smith Library, Case Western Reserve






xviii List of illustrations

University, Cleveland, Ohio. (d) “Menace.” Henry Siddons,Practical Illustrations of Rhetorical Gesture and Action (London:Phillips, 1807), between pages 148 and 149. University ofMichigan Special Collections Library. 231

6.5 “Suggested Illustration for Dr. Darwin’s Movements andHabits of Climbing Plants.” Punch 69 (11 Dec. 1875): 242.University of Michigan Special Collections Library. 234

6.6 “Good Dog.” Illustrated Times, 16 May 1863. Courtesy of theYale University Library. 236

6.7 “Shadow Portraits” of (a) R. B. Brough and (b) C. H. Bennett.Charles H. Bennett and Robert B. Brough, Character Sketches,Development Drawings, and Original Pictures of Wit andHumour (London: Ward, Lock, and Tyler, [1872]), 47 and 48.University of Michigan Libraries. 237

6.8 “As Thirsty As A Fish.” Illustrated Times, 10 October 1863.Courtesy of the Yale University Library. 239

7.1 “Diagram of the alimentary canal of an earthworm.” Figure 1

from Charles Darwin, The Formation of Vegetable Mouldthrough the Action of Worms (London: Murray, 1881), 18.University of Michigan Libraries. 246

7.2 “A tower-like casting.” Figure 3 from Charles Darwin, TheFormation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms(London: Murray, 1881), 124. University of Michigan Libraries. 251

7.3 “Remains of the Cathedral at Concepcion.” Robert Fitzroy,ed., Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s ShipsAdventure and Beagle . . . , 3 vols. (London: Colburn, 1839) ii:facing p. 405. University of Michigan Special CollectionsLibrary. 254

7.4 “Britannia or Tower Rock, Port Desire,” “Anchorage andSpanish Ruins, Port Desire,” “Upper Part of Port Desire Inlet,”and “Bivouac at the Head of Port Desire Inlet.” Robert Fitzroy,ed., Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s ShipsAdventure and Beagle . . . , 3 vols. (London: Colburn, 1839) ii:facing p. 316. University of Michigan Special CollectionsLibrary. 255

7.5 “Roman Walls of Caerwent.” Thomas Wright, Uriconium; AHistorical Account of the Ancient Roman City, and of theExcavations made upon its Site at Wroxeter, in Shropshire(London: Longmans, 1872), 92. University of MichiganLibraries. 256






List of illustrations xix

7.6 (a) “Section of Field.” Figure 1 from Charles Darwin, “On theFormation of Mould,” Transactions of the Geological Society ofLondon, 2nd series, pt. 3, vol. 5 (1840): 506. University ofMichigan Libraries. (b) “Section of the lowest plain at Port S.Julian.” Figure 16 from Charles Darwin, GeologicalObservations on Coral Reefs, Volcanic Islands, and on SouthAmerica, 3 vols. (London: Smith, Elder, 1851) iii:95. Universityof Michigan Libraries. (c) “Section . . . of the vegetable mouldin a field, drained and reclaimed fifteen years previously.”Figure 5 from Charles Darwin, The Formation of VegetableMould through the Action of Worms (London: Murray, 1881),133. University of Michigan Libraries. 259

7.7 (a) “Section through the foundations of a buried Roman villaat Abinger.” (b) “Section within a hall in the Basilica atSilchester.” Figures 8 and 10 from Charles Darwin, TheFormation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms(London: Murray, 1881), 180 and 205. University of MichiganLibraries. 261

7.8 Colored tracings by J. G. Joyce of the Silchester excavations.Darwin Papers, Cambridge University Library, dar 65.104. Bypermission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library. 262

7.9 (a) “A north and south section through the subsided floor of acorridor, paved with tesserae . . .” Figure 14 from CharlesDarwin, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Actionof Worms (London: Murray, 1881), 214. University of MichiganLibraries. (b) “Section of the tertiary formation at Coquimbo.”Figure 21 from Charles Darwin, Geological Observations onCoral Reefs, Volcanic Islands, and on South America (London:Smith, Elder, 1851), iii:128. University of Michigan Libraries.(c) “Section of the Peuquenes or Portillo Pass of theCordillera,” “Section of the Cumbre or Uspallata Pass,” and“Section up the Valley of Copiapo to the Base of the MainCordillera.” Plate i from Charles Darwin, GeologicalObservations on Coral Reefs, Volcanic Islands, and on SouthAmerica (London: Smith, Elder, 1851). University of MichiganLibraries. 264

7.10 (a) “Section through one of the fallen Druidical stones atStonehenge.” (b) “Traverse section across a large stone, whichhad lain on a grass field for 35 years.” Figures 7 and 6 fromCharles Darwin, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the






xx List of illustrations

Action of Worms (London: Murray, 1881), 151. University ofMichigan Libraries. 266

7.11 “Stonehenge, From the North.” Thomas Wright, Wanderingsof an Antiquary (London: Nichols, 1854), facing pages 293–94.University of Michigan Libraries. 267

7.12 (a) View of Stonehenge made in 1620 by Inigo Jones. (b) Viewof Stonehenge made in the late nineteenth century. EdgarBarclay, Stonehenge and Its Earth-Works (London: Nutt, 1895),between pages 16 and 17 and 6 and 7. University of MichiganLibraries. 268

7.13 Stone Henge. J. M. W. Turner, Picturesque Views in Englandand Wales (London: Longman, 1838). Yale Center for BritishArt, Paul Mellon Collection. 268

7.14 “Punch’s Fancy Portraits.–No. 54. Charles Robert Darwin,LL.D., F. R. S.” Punch 81 (22 October 1881): 190. University ofMichigan Special Collections Library. 273

7.15 “Man is But a Worm.” Punch’s Almanack for 1882(6 Dec. 1881). University of Michigan Libraries. 274






Acknowledgments

While this book cannot claim to be of Darwinian importance, it was cer-tainly written at a Darwinian pace, and over the course of more than adecade I have accumulated what sometimes feels like a Darwinian-sizedset of debts of gratitude. Lee Sterrenburg and George Levine have notonly read the entire manuscript but watched and encouraged its devel-opment. Susan Erickson, Barbara Gates, David Knight, Rosemary Jann,Bernie Lightman, Robert Patten, Richard Stein, and Rebecca Stott havegraciously read and commented on individual chapters. I have benefitedfrom conversations with Dame Gillian Beer and am particularly grateful forher desire to include this book as part of Cambridge’s series on Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture. I have benefited as well from conversationswith John Brooke, Ann Datta, Gowan Dawson, Jim Endersby, Jim Helyar,Richard Kaye, Marsha Richmond, Martin Rudwick, Jim Secord, RustyShteir, Jonathan Topham, and Paul White. My work on John Gould isdeeply indebted to the work and wisdom of the late Gordon Sauer. I’vereceived help with specific questions from Graeme Gooday, Paul Barlow,Peter Morton, Bob Peck, and, like so many Victorianists, from the mem-bers of the VICTORIA listserv. From Geoffrey Cantor, Sally Shuttleworth,Harriet Ritvo, and Laura Walls I have received general assistance and sup-port that has helped this book come to be. At Cambridge University Press,Linda Bree has been a patient and encouraging editor.

This project would not have been possible without the helpful assistanceof many librarians, curators, and archivists. I’m especially grateful to thestaff at the University of Michigan libraries, in particular Franki Hand inSpecial Collections, Charlene Stachnik at the Museums Library, and ChrisAnderson at the Herbarium Library; the Darwin Correspondence Project,particularly Sheila Dean; the Manuscripts Room at the Cambridge Univer-sity Library, particularly Adam Perkins and Godfrey Waller. At the NaturalHistory Museum in London I owe thanks to Paul Cooper, at the HornimanMuseum to David Allen, at the University of Kansas’s Spencer Research

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xxii Acknowledgments

Library to Jim Helyar, at Case Western Reserve University’s Kelvin SmithLibrary to Sue Hanson, at the Kalamazoo College Library to Paul Smithson,at the University of Chicago Library to Barbara Gilbert, at the MissouriBotanical Gardens Library to Linda Oestry, at the Royal Academy Libraryto Andrew Potter, at the Wedgwood Museum to Lynn Miller, at theMichigan State University Library to Peter Berg, and at the AshmoleanMuseum to Rupert Shepherd. The interlibrary loan staff at both theUniversity of Michigan-Dearborn’s Mardigian Library and Eastern NewMexico University’s Golden Library processed many requests for me.

I am extremely grateful for financial support from the National Endow-ment for the Humanities, the Horace R. Rackham School of Graduate Stud-ies and the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University ofMichigan-Ann Arbor, and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs(particularly Drew Buchanan) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.This book would not have been researched, written, or illustrated withoutthe generous assistance of each. I also express my deep thanks to Dan Littleat Dearborn and Lee Bollinger, Nancy Cantor, and Paul Courant at AnnArbor for their personal and professional kindnesses.

For a semester largely spent thinking and writing about Darwin at EasternNew Mexico University, I cannot adequately express my gratitude to theextraordinary Jack Williamson, or to my friends and colleagues there, espe-cially Mary Ayala, Nina Bjornsson, Colin Ramsey, and Jerry Spotswood.Words are even more inadequate for thanking my friends and colleaguesat Dearborn, in particular Elias Baumgarten, Suzanne Bergeron, LarryBerkove, Scott DeGregorio, Susan Erickson, Jim Gruber, Elton Higgs, PaulHughes, Maureen Linker, Jim Knight, Sheryl Pearson, Bruce Pietrykowski,Pat Smith, Jackie Vansant, and Kathy Wider.

Finally, Bree Loverich and Marcie Holowicki provided research assistanceon the project, Belinda Soliz made sure the manuscript looked good andhelped obtain the illustrations, Charlie Myers digitized most of the images,and Christian McDavid kept track of the funds. I am grateful to each.

Earlier versions of parts of Chapters 2, 3, and 4 have appeared in Reshap-ing Christianity: Innovation and Pluralization in the Nineteenth Century(Ashgate, 2001), The Book Collector, and Science Serialized: Representationsof the Sciences in Nineteenth-Century Periodicals (MIT Press, 2004).

Finally, I am thankful for my wife, Michelle, whose love reminds me dailyof the power of things unseen.






Note on the texts

Unless otherwise noted, references to Charles Darwin’s published works aretaken from The Works of Charles Darwin, edited by Paul H. Barrett andR. B. Freeman, 29 vols. (New York: New York University Press, 1986–89)and are cited parenthetically in the text. All references to John Ruskin’sworks are from The Works of John Ruskin, Library Edition, edited byE. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols. (London: George Allen,1903–1912) and are noted parenthetically in the text.

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