The origin of species (1880)

A$1,400 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life . London : John Murray, 1880. Sixth edition, with additions and corrections to 1872 (twenty-second thousand). Octavo, full calf prize binding by Bickers and Son, for the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, with their emblem in gilt to the front board, edges rubbed, spine in compartments with title label and gilt ornaments (darkened), marbled edges and endpapers, prize label to front pastedown, pp xxi, [blank], 458, folding lithographed plate, light foxing to preliminaries. A very good, clean copy. Printed from stereos of the eleventh thousand, and the third issue of the final definitive text, Darwin having made some very minor corrections to the eighteenth thousand (as per Freeman). This is a notable printing of the Origin as it is the very last time that the Origin was issued by John Murray in Darwin s lifetime. This particular copy is notable in that it was presented to it’s recipient (G. McCalman) on ‘April 19th 1882’. It was on the afternoon of this day (a Wednesday) that Charles Darwin died. A fine copy of the sixth 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 rec

• Binding: Hardcover

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