DARWIN CHARLES (1809-1882).

Lot 41
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Estimation :
30000 - 40000 EUR
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Result : 240 500EUR
DARWIN CHARLES (1809-1882).
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. London: [W. Clowes and Sons for] John Murray, 1859. In-8 format, IX, 502 pp. with a folding diagram facing p. 117 by W. West, half-title verso with quotations by Whewell and Bacon, 32-page publisher’s catalogue dated June 1859 at the end (“Mr. Murray’s General List of Works”); a few light spots in fi rst leaves. Original publisher’s blind panelled green grained cloth (with Edmonds & Remnants ticket), spine gilt, browncoated endpapers, in a green articulated cloth and leather box with title piece: “On the Origin of Species. First Edition. Autograph Orchard Plan”. Slight rubbing on joints with a bit of colour restoration at top of upper joint, ⅛ inch tear in top edge of upper cover. Dimensions: 200 x 124 mm. First edition. Of the fi rst run of 1, 250 copies. Darwin’s seminal book that shared his theory of evolution with a lay audience. Darwin wrote in his diary that all 1 250 copies of the fi rst edition, published on November 24, were sold on the fi rst day; however, more accurately, nearly all of the edition had been sold to the trade immediately, with the exception of personal copies set aside for Darwin and review copies. A handsome copy. Dibner 199: “The most important single work in science”. Freeman 373. Garrison and Morton 220. Horblit 23b. Norman Library I, 594. PMM, 344b: “The fi ve 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 fi ve 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” Copies of the original fi rst edition have fetched high prices, including at Christie’s, London, 24 November 2009, lot 48
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