DARWIN, Charles.
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
“Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends": First Edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species
London: John Murray, 1859.
* Custom Clamshell Boxes are hand made by the Harcourt Bindery upon request and take approximately 60 days to complete
First edition of "certainly the most important biological book ever written" (Freeman), first released on November 24, 1859 with a print run of only 1250 copies. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and library call number "G 347 R.M.A.Library" to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, rebacked, folding diagram lithographed by W. West. In very good condition, folding diagram slightly creased and repaired, lower margin of F8 and upper margin of X10 repaired, lacking half-title and publisher's advertisements at end, ink library stamp to a few front pages.
Darwin “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” (PMM 344). “Without question a watershed work in the history of modern life sciences, Darwin’s Origin elaborated a proposition that species slowly evolve from common ancestors through the mechanism of natural selection. As he himself expected, Darwin’s theory became, and continues to be in some circles, the object of intense controversy” (American Philosophical Society). “The five years [of Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle] were the most important event in Darwin’s intellectual life and in the history of biological science. Darwin sailed with no formal training. He returned a hard-headed man of science… The experiences of his five years in the Beagle, how he dealt with them, and what they led to, built up into a process of epoch-making importance in the history of thought” (PMM).
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
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