Bates, Henry Walter

FIRST EDITION, 2 volumes, 8vo (200 x 120mm.), 32pp. adverts dated January 1863, folding map, 9 wood-engraved plates, illustrations, original pictorial blindstamped brown cloth gilt, dark red endpapers, spotting, text block in both volumes cracked at places, slight cockling and wear to spines

Hale Alderley, Glos., bookplates

Borba de Moraes, p.91

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bates accompanied Wallace on his expedition to the Amazon, departing from Liverpool in 1848. The purpose of the expedition was to gather facts "towards solving the problem of the origin of species", a subject which the two participants had frequently discussed. Darwin encouraged Bates to write this account and later described it as "the best work on natural travels ever published in England". In his preface Bates states that no less than eight thousand species new to science were discovered. "During the whole of his sojourn amid the Brazilian forests his speculations were approximating to the theory of natural selection, and upon the publication of the 'Origin of Species' he became a staunch and thoroughgoing adherent of the Darwinian hypothesis" (DNB).