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List of medals in Wallace's The Malay Archipelago book

List of medals in Wallace's The Malay Archipelago book

Catalogue number: L-ARW-50

The Malay Archipelago book with a handwritten list of medals awarded to Wallace, dated 1890.

This is the tenth edition (1890) of Wallace's epic travel book The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-utan and the Bird of Paradise; a Narrative of Travel, with Studies of Man and Nature. This particular book was Wallace's own copy and in the front he has written a list entitled 'medals awarded to me'. There are four medals listed, including the Gold Medal of the Linnean Society. Wallace has also noted he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1893. During Wallace's life, his contributions to science were highly regarded and he was one of the most famous scientists of his era.

Wallace was a serious and driven naturalist but he was not fond of public praise and was unpretentious. Wallace was a modest man and received his medals with a little pride mixed with humour, as illustrated in a letter he wrote to his daughter Violet.

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Wallace Letters Online

Letter to Alfred Russel Wallace from the Royal Society, about his Darwin Medal award

View high resolution scans and transcripts of Alfred Russel Wallace's correspondence, including all surviving letters between him and Charles Darwin.

Explore Wallace's correspondence