Books

London, John Murray, 1862. . First edition, first impression, first issue; 8vo in twelves; folding plate, woodcuts within the text, 32-page publisher's ads dated December, 1861 to rear, Edmonds & Remnants binder's ticket to rear pastedown, bookplate, contents partially unopened, a few stray spots and tiny marks but overall contents clean; housed in a modern slipcase, original plum cloth rebacked with the original spine laid down with some loss from the ends, titles to spine and orchid to upper board gilt, decorative design to boards blocked in blind, coated endpapers, corners restored, some loss of size from cloth, very good condition; 365pp. First edition, first issue, of this important contribution to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Freeman's variant a with vertically lined cloth and ads dated December, 1861.Orchids 'was concerned with working out in detail the relationships between sexual structures of orchids and the insects which fertilise them, their…

This groundbreaking work by Charles Darwin explores the mechanisms by which orchids are fertilized by insects and the benefits of cross-pollination.