- 42
Estimate
2,000 - 3,000 GBP
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Description
- The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication. John Murray, 1868
- Paper
8vo, 2 volumes, FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE (with five lines of errata in vol. 1 and seven in vol. 2, and the imprint on the spine in one line), 43 woodcut illustrations, original green cloth ruled in blind, boards slightly bowed, extremities lightly worn, upper hinge of vol. 1 splitting
Provenance
Sir Joseph Prestwich, bookplate and autograph note by Darwin ("Dec 24 | With Mr. C Darwin's | compliments & thanks") loosely inserted
Prestwich (1812-1896) made his living as wine merchant but is best known as geologist, despite undertaking all of his research in his own time until he retired at the age of 60. Darwin wrote on a number of occasions to Prestwich, most notably after the publication of The Origin of Species, when he sought his "general criticisms": "I have always admired your various memoirs so much that I should be eminently glad to receive your opinion, which might be of real service to me" (12 March 1860).
Literature
Freeman 877
Catalogue Note
This first issue of the first edition was published in a run of only 1,500 copies, most of which had already been sold at John Murray's sale the previous autumn and the remainder were taken up within the first week.
This lot is being sold by the Charles Darwin Trust to fund the gift of Quentin Keynes’ remaining collection of important Darwin and Wallace books and manuscripts to the Linnean Society, for use in their educational programmes.