Books

First edition of "the most important biological book ever written" (Freeman), in which Darwin explained his concept of adaptation through natural selection, which became the foundation of modern evolutionary theory; 1,250 copies were printed. This copy has Darwin's distinctive signature clipped from an autograph letter and affixed to the front pastedown. The publication of the Origin of Species "ushered in a new era in our thinking about the nature of man. The intellectual revolution it caused and the impact it had on man's concept of himself and the world were greater than those caused by the works of Copernicus, Newton, and the great physicists of more recent times... Every modern discussion of man's future, the population explosion, the struggle for existence, the purpose of man and the universe, and man's place in nature rests on Darwin" (Mayr, pp. vii-xxviii). Provenance: with the ownership inscriptions, on the front free endpaper recto and verso respectively, of the sportsman and amateur ornithologist Francis Hornby Birley (1850-1910; dated 1886 and addressed Dormansland) and his son, the neurologist James Leatham Birley (1884-1934; dated 12 July 1905). Francis won the FA Cup three times and made two appearances on the English national team; James is best known for his pioneering research into fatigue and stress in Air Force pilots during the First World War. Caroline Birley (1851-1907), Francis's sister and James's aunt, was an accomplished geologist and First edition of "the most important biological book ever written" (Freeman), in which Darwin explained his concept of adaptation through natural selection, which became the foundation of modern evolutionary theory; 1,250 copies were printed. This copy has Darwin's distinctive signature clipped from an autograph letter and affixed to the front pastedown. The publication of the Origin of Species "ushered in a new era in our thinking about the nature of man. The intellectual revolution it caused and the impact it had on man's concept of himself and the world were greater than those caused by the works of Copernicus, Newton, and the great physicists of more recent times... Every modern discussion of man's future, the population explosion, the struggle for existence, the purpose of man and the universe, and man's place in nature rests on Darwin" (Mayr, pp. vii-xxviii). Provenance: with the ownership inscriptions, on the front free endpaper recto and verso respectively, of the sportsman and amateur ornithologist Francis Hornby Birley (1850-1910; dated 1886 and addressed Dormansland) and his son, the neurologist James Leatham Birley (1884-1934; dated 12 July 1905). Francis won the FA Cup three times and made two appearances on the English national team; James is best known for his pioneering research into fatigue and stress in Air Force pilots during the First World War. Caroline Birley (1851-1907), Francis's sister and James's aunt, was an accomplished geologist and fossil collector; she willed her private collection to both the Natural History Museum in London and the Manchester Museum. The Birley and Darwin families are connected through the Platt Hall estate in Lancashire, the main house of which was built in the mid-1760s for John and Deborah Carill-Worsley. Their descendants owned the estate until 1907 but periodically leased the Hall to tenants. The Birley family enjoyed one such tenancy, c.1800, and "intermarried with the Hornby family and became Lords of the Manor, maintaining the bloodline whenever they needed to exercise wealth and influence" (Russell). The Darwin family is linked to Platt Hall by the marriage in 1840 of John and Deborah's grandson Charles Carill-Worsley (1800-1864) to Mary Jane Darwin (1817-1872). They lived at Platt Hall, which was reoccupied by the Carill-Worsley family from 1841. Mary Jane was the daughter of Francis Sacheverel Darwin and a cousin of Charles Darwin. READ MORE Octavo (187 x 120 mm), gathered and signed in 12s. Near-contemporary half calf, rebacked preserving the original spine, green morocco label, compartments and raised bands tooled in gilt and blind, green surface endpapers, red sprinkled edges. Housed in a green quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Folding diagram lithographed by W. West. Leather expertly refurbished, corners repaired, endpapers browned from turn-ins, with tiny chip at upper outer corner of the front free, endleaves and first gathering lightly foxed, contents evenly toned and generally clean bar occasional faint finger soiling and marginal emphasis in pencil to pp. 473-4, 485-6, and 489: a very good copy. Dibner 199; Freeman 373 (binding variant a, advertisements variant 3, no priority); Garrison-Morton 220; Horblit 23b; Norman 593; Printing and the Mind of Man 344b. Ernst Mayr, introduction to the Harvard University facsimile edition, 1964; Allan Russell,

"On the Origin of Species" is a pivotal scientific work by Charles Darwin, published in 1859. In this seminal book, Darwin proposed the theory of evolution through natural selection, reshaping humanity's understanding of the natural world. He presented a comprehensive argument supported by extensive observations and evidence from various fields, discussing the gradual modification of species over time. Darwin's central idea was that all species of organisms evolved from common ancestors and that the mechanism driving this evolution was natural selection. He argued that within populations, organisms exhibit variations, and those better adapted to their environment have a higher chance of surviving and passing on their advantageous traits to future generations. Over successive generations, these advantageous traits accumulate, leading to the divergence of species and the formation of new ones. Darwin drew upon diverse scientific disciplines, including geology, paleontology, embryology, and anatomy, to support his theory. He detailed examples from nature, such as the diversity of finches in the Galápagos Islands and artificial selection in domesticated animals, to illustrate his points. The book triggered widespread debate, challenging prevailing religious and scientific beliefs about the origin and diversity of life. While controversial at the time, "On the Origin of Species" laid the groundwork for modern evolutionary biology. Its profound impact continues to shape scientific inquiry, influencing fields ranging from genetics to ecology and sparking ongoing discussions about life's interconnectedness and the processes that drive biological diversity.