Books

in-8vo, VII (+1 white) + 326 p. + 1 leaf (list of works by Darwin), ill. with 15 woodcuts in-text, old ownership inscription to half-title ?Th. Gompertz?, Original publisher?s green cloth, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, front and rear boards panelled in blind, dark brown endpapers, edges uncut. First edition, second printing. The last publication prior to his death in 1882 is the culmination of ten years of intensive research and close observation of the interaction of earthworms with their physical environment and their influence on great earth movements. "It was his leitmotif, explaining vast changes by minute incremental events: mountain uplift, evolving life, and now worms transforming the soil" (ODNB). The first printing was said to be of 2,000 copies, but copies of the second thousand are noted as such on the title page; otherwise there are no textual differences. It is likely that the first and second thousand were printed simultaneously, but bound up with different title pages. Please notify before visiting to see a book. Prices are excl. VAT/TVA (only Switzerland) & postage. Freeman 1357.

This book by Charles Darwin, published in 1881, investigates the role of earthworms in the process of soil formation and the decomposition of organic material, presenting detailed research on their behavior and effects on plant growth.