Ernst Mayr

Signed first edition, first printing of this influential and canonical work on evolutionary theory and speciation.

• Ernst Mayr (German-American).
• Introduction by Theodosius Dobzhansky.
• New York: Columbia University Press, 1942.
• 334 pages.
• Black-and-white illustrations.
• Signed by Mayr on title page.
• Number XIII of the Columbia Biological Series.
• Original blind-stamped royal blue cloth with gilt-lettered spine.

"The systematist who studies the factors of evolution wants to find out how species originate, how they are related, and what this relationship means."

Systematics was Mayr's first book, completed during his tenure as curator at the American Museum of Natural History and enthusiastic member of the Linnaean Society, where he encouraged other birdwatching members of the naturalist society to "have a problem, everyone should have a problem." Mayr's support of serious amateurs was one of his many lasting contributions to ornithology: "It is largely due to Mayr's influence that competent amateurs today play such an important part in modern bird study" (Haupt).

Mayr enjoyed a long and celebrated career, later joining the faculty of Harvard and receiving the National Medal of Science, the International Prize for Biology, the Darwin Medal, and numerous other awards and honors. Among the many creatures named in his honor are several species of birds and Ernst Mayr's Water Rat (Leoptomys ernstmayri), a charming rodent of the Muridae family most often found in the mountains of New Guinea.