Can’t see this man’s notebooks? The Cambridge University Library on Tuesday appealed for public assistance, and a pair of notebooks written by Charles Darwin in 1875 have not been seen for two decades.

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Can’t see this man’s notebooks? The Cambridge University Library on Tuesday appealed for public assistance, and a pair of notebooks written by Charles Darwin in 1875 have not been seen for two decades.

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Can’t find Charles Darwin’s notebooks? If so, the authorities – and the “heartbroken” librarians – would like to say a word to you.

That is the last line of an appeal Given Tuesday Library maintained by Cambridge University Library, UK, a Huge archive The famous naturalist writes that they are looking for two notebooks that have been missing for two decades – they are afraid they will be stolen after a thorough search.

Cambridgeshire Police Confirmed Tuesday They have launched a formal formal inquiry into the disappearance. The library says it has also added a pair of journals worth millions of dollars Art Loss Register In the UK and Interpol Database of stolen works of art.

“I’m deeply saddened by the disappearance of these notebooks, despite numerous extensive searches over the past 20 years, including the largest search in the library’s history earlier this year,” wrote Jessica Gardner, Cambridge University Librarian. Application for public assistance.

She added that we are grateful to anyone with information that may have contributed to the recovery. “Someone else might be able to help us get these notebooks back to their rightful place, at the heart of the UK’s cultural and scientific heritage.”

Among the missing essays is a sketch written by Darwin in 1837, HMS. His theory of evolution was inspired by his return from a trip to the Beagle. The smaller the drawing, the better known it is among scholars “Tree of Life” sketch, Reveals Darwin’s ideas more than two decades ago About the origin of the species.

The missing notebooks include Charles Darwin’s famous “Tree of Life” sketch, according to the Cambridge University Library.

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Cambridge University Library

The missing notebooks include Charles Darwin’s famous “Tree of Life” sketch, according to the Cambridge University Library.

Cambridge University Library

At least in a way, the date the library announced was a natural choice: Darwin’s first work was published Exactly 161 yearsTuesday before the release of the Cambridge help request.

Why it took the library so long to report missing notebooks: Although many searches found nothing, Gardner’s predecessors speculated that the notebooks were “incorrectly filed”. Told the BBC.

The library says notebooks were last seen in the fall of 2000. When taken out of the room where “rare and valuables are kept” for a photography session. They were not found during the January 2001 “Pow inspection”.

Both notebooks were contained in a small box “about the size of a paperback book” according to the library.

There were many inquiries, but it was only after a thorough search of Darwin’s archive 189 boxes earlier this year that the library came to the different and worse conclusion: “They may have been stolen.”

If there’s a silver lining here, it’s this: Before their physical manuscripts disappeared, both notebooks were digitized – and are now available for anyone to check out online Here And Here.

If you get any information about where these notebooks are, the local police are taking tips Here, And the library welcomes more information via email.