DARWIN, 5 OFFPRINTS IN ONE VOLUME, 1865-69

"On the movements and habits of climbing plants" offprint from The Journal of the Linnean Society, 1865, FIRST EDITION, THE AUTHOR'S SPECIAL OFFPRINT, [Freeman 835], PRESENTATION INSCRIPTION ("From the author") ON TITLE PAGE, bound with: "On the two forms, or diomorphic condition, in the species of Primula...", offprint from The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, 1862, [cf. Freeman 1717]; "On the Existence of two forms, and on their reciprocal sexual relation, in several species of the genus Linum...", offprint from The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, 1863, [cf. Freeman 1723]; "On the Sexual Relations of the three forms of Lythrum salicaria, offprint from the Linnean Society Journal, 1864, [cf. Freeman 1731]; "Notes on the fertilisation of orchids", offprint from The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1869, [cf. Freeman 1748]; 8vo, offprints bound without wrappers in contemporary half calf, with Southampton binder's label, with authorial inscription "From the author" on the title page of the first work, armorial bookplate of the author's son William E. Darwin, some light spotting to text, binding slightly rubbed on spine and at extremities

Charles Darwin; his daughter Henrietta ("Etty") Litchfield (1843-1927); her niece Margaret Keynes, née Darwin (1890-1974); thence by descent

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate
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PRESENTATION COPY FROM DARWIN TO HIS SON OF THE RARE AUTHOR'S ISSUE OF "CLIMBING PLANTS". The printing of the monograph took three forms: a double number of the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, and two offprints, one for commercial sale, and one (as here) for the author. Darwin had long been intrigued by the more energetic aspects of plant physiology, and this monograph (subsequently published in a second edition by John Murray in 1875) is the result of his study of more than 100 species of climber, which, he was convinced, demonstrated how climbing adaptation aided survival in dense vegetation, showing how plant movement had been intensified by the process of natural selection. William Erasmus Darwin (1839–1914) was the first of the naturalist's ten children. From 1861 to 1870 he was his father's main scientific assistant for his outstanding research on plant forms and floral mechanisms for cross-fertilisation, and the different methods they have evolved for climbing. This volume contains three of Darwin's classic botanical works, to each of which William made significant contributions. In his later life William Erasmus championed the cause of university education for all, and played a leading role in the initiatives which led to the foundation of a university college in Southampton in 1902.