The origin of species (sixth edition, first impression)

A$6,250 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Limited edition

by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life . London : John Murray, 1872. Sixth edition, with additions and corrections (eleventh thousand). Octavo, modern full crushed blue Morocco with gilt ornamental edging, spine in compartments with raised bands, lettered and tooled in gilt, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, pp xxi, [blank], 458, folding lithographed plate; light scattered foxing, a very presentable copy. The first printing of the sixth edition the final, authoritative edition of one of the most important texts in the history of science. The first edition of 1859, a great rarity, is described in Freeman as the most important biological work ever written. ; Dibner, the most important single work in science. ; Printing the Mind of Man, revolutionized our methods of thinking and our outlook on the natural order of things. The recognition that constant change is the order of the universe had been finally established and a vast step forward in the uniformity of nature had been taken . The sixth edition, extensively rewritten by Darwin, removed the word On from the title On the origin of species and includes rebuttal of Roman Catholic biologist St. George Mivart s theological arguments in his 1871 text On the Genesis of Species . Printed in a run of 3000 copies, it is significant for including the use of the word evolution for the first time in furtherance of Darwin s argument for natural selection. It is the last edition publ

• Printing: first
• Binding: Hardcover

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