Two notebooks belonging to Charles Darwin, who went missing for more than 20 years from the Cambridge University Library in the United Kingdom, have now returned to their home. The company announced. One of the notebooks from 1837 contained the famous map of the tree of life, which outlined the concept of evolution created by a 19th-century British naturalist.
Since January 2001, the two notebooks owned by the library’s Darwin archive have not been located. But the disappearance of the two manuscripts was not confirmed until 2020. The company, in conjunction with Interpol and the Cambridgeshire Police, has made a global public appeal to contact those with any information about the notebooks.
On March 9, 15 months after the public’s appeal, a hot pink bag appeared on the floor of a library building where surveillance cameras were not available. In the bag was a box from the file and inside, two notebooks wrapped in foil. In addition to the notebooks, there was an envelope printed with the following message: “Librarian, Easter Greetings”. The signature had an “X”.
Jessica Gardner, librarian in charge of Cambridge University libraries, who initiated the public appeal, agrees, “my feeling about the safe return of notebooks is deep and cannot be expressed adequately.” Site Of the company.
Stuart Roberts / Cambridge University Library / Reuters
According to a BBC news report, those in charge of the library had to wait for five days for police approval to unpack. But the tension disappeared. The notebooks were well maintained and in good condition during the years they were away. Although the manuscripts are now safe, the investigation into the disappearance will continue.
“Like many people around the world, I was devastated to learn that notebooks were lost and that the joy of their return was immense,” says the librarian. “The only purpose of our request to the public is to keep the manuscripts safe in our custody. I am glad we have been very successful in a relatively short period of time.”
Disappeared for decades
In September 2000, I was asked to photograph the notebooks, and two months later the work was completed. In January 2001, the library realized that the box containing the notebooks had not been returned. Over the next two decades, it was estimated that notebooks might be lost in the company’s tens of millions of documents (books, drawings, manuscripts, and other items).
In 2020, Jessica Gardner organized a background inquiry into the archives looking for two notebooks. Only then did it become clear that they had been stolen. The next step is to promote the public appeal, which the company says has had major repercussions nationally and internationally.
“It simply came to our notice then [de fazer o apelo] The notebooks had a direct impact on the recall, and we would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to the public, “said Jessica Gardner. Let’s start again. “
As a kind of recognition of the public reception, as part of the exhibition, the library will be displaying notebooks from July 9th. Darwin in conversation From the Cambridge University Libraries.
“We are very excited to be showcasing notebooks this summer to give everyone the opportunity to see these remarkable notebooks live,” says Jessica Gardner. “They may be small, the size of a postcard, but the impact of notebooks on scientific history and their importance in our world-class collection is undeniable.”
Stuart Roberts / Cambridge University Library / Reuters
The exhibition aims to reconstruct the life and work of Charles Darwin on science through the theory of evolution of living things, published in the 1959 book. Origin of organisms. The exhibition was created with the help of 15,000 letters exchanged by the nature enthusiast throughout his lifetime with his extensive network of reporters.
“This exhibition will dispel the myth that Charles Darwin was a solo theorist.” “His experiences and his interactions with a diverse population were key to his discoveries and theories that changed the world.”
