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Catalogue number: WP2/1/4
Photograph of Wallace aged about 40 years old, undated, circa 1862.
Here we see Wallace as he looked while travelling around the Malay Archipelago. He was notably tall and thin, with a beard and spectacles. The top hat resting on the chair gives him the 'English gentleman' look.
Wallace was in the Malay Archipelago for eight years (1854-1862). In 1858, Wallace famously formulated his ideas on natural selection as the mechanism for evolution. On his return home, Wallace wrote a bestselling book about his travels around the region, The Malay Archipelago, which is still in print today.
For enquiries about the Wallace Collection please email the library
View high resolution scans and transcripts of Alfred Russel Wallace's correspondence, including all surviving letters between him and Charles Darwin.
