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Missing Charles Darwin notebooks returned to Cambridge University Library 22 years after disappearing

The notebooks were returned to the Cambridge University Library in March. (Reuters: Stuart Roberts via Cambridge University)

Two notebooks that once belonged to British naturalist Charles Darwin have been returned to Cambridge University's library, more than 20 years after they were reported missing.

The notebooks, which contain the origins of Darwin's theory of evolution, were found on March 9 inside a gift bag that was left on the floor in a public area of the library.

The bag also contained a printed message on a brown envelope that read: "Librarian Happy Easter X".

The librarian of Cambridge University Library, Dr Jessica Gardner, said little is known about how the notebooks were returned.

"We don't know a lot, but the facts are that the notebooks were left anonymously in a public place inside the university library and they were left inside a large pink gift bag," Dr Gardner said.

"Inside the gift bag was the original archive box, just a little larger than the notebooks themselves and also a plain brown office envelope which contained the notebooks themselves.

The notebooks were last seen in 2000 before being reported missing in 2001. (Reuters: Stuart Roberts via Cambridge University)

The contents of the notebooks were used by Darwin to piece together what would become the theory of evolution, and contained his first sketch about an "evolutionary tree" after a trip around the world in 1837.

The tree was later published as a fully developed tree of life in his book On The Origin of Species. 

"They may be tiny, just the size of postcards, but the notebooks' impact on the history of science, and their importance to our world-class collections here, cannot be overstated," Dr Gardner said.

The notebooks are known as the Transmutation Notebooks because Darwin theorised in them for the first time how species might "transmute" from ancestral to later forms.

This sketch of the tree of life was used by Charles Darwin to develop the theory of evolution. (Reuters: Stuart Roberts via Cambridge University)

Closing the chapter on a 20-year search 

The notebooks were first reported missing in January 2001, after they were removed from a strong room to be photographed in late 2000. 

Charles Darwin developed the theory of natural selection in the 19th Century. (Elliot and Fry: American Museum of Natural History)

After an "exhaustive" search, Cambridge University Library concluded that the notebooks had likely been stolen, launching an extensive online appeal in November 2020.

The appeal was launched on November 24 to coincide with Evolution Day — the anniversary of Darwin's On the Origin of Species being published on November 24, 1859.

The university had estimated the the value of the notebooks would "probably run into millions of pounds".

"I'd like to say such a warm thank you to the public and to the police," Dr Gardner said.

Dr Jessica Gardner says the notebooks are in very good condition. (Reuters: Stuart Roberts via Cambridge University)

The notebooks have since been returned to the strong room, but will soon be on display to the general public.

"They will be on show from July at a free exhibition called Darwin in Conversation," Dr Gardner said.

"We hadn't dreamt that we would be able to include these in the public exhibition when we were planning it, but now they're back we can, and everyone will have the chance to see them.

A police investigation into the disappearance of the notebooks remains ongoing.

ABC/Reuters

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