According to the publication, since 2000, the library staff believed that Darwin's notebooks, which they could not find, were removed to the wrong section of the archive.
Then both notebooks were removed from the archive for photographing, after which it was discovered that "the small blue box with the notes was not returned to its place."
According to representatives of the library, it is difficult to estimate the value of the missing manuscripts, but we can talk about several million pounds.
In one of the missing notebooks, Darwin in 1837 made a sketch of the "Tree of Life" - an approximate diagram of the evolutionary development of living beings.
The authorities launched an investigation into the possible theft, and Interpol was also notified about it.
Both manuscripts have been digitized and are available on the Internet, the library specified.
In 2017, a copy of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, commented by the author, was put up for auction at Christie's in London.