Books

First edition, in the first issue binding, of Wallace's account of the famous expedition to the Amazon basin jointly undertaken with Henry Walter Bates. There were 750 copies of the first edition printed, of which 250 were reissued in a remainder binding of green cloth. Inspired by William Henry Edwards's Voyage up the River Amazon (1847), Wallace and Bates set off for the Amazon in 1848. "Apart from meeting their immediate goal of earning a living through natural history collecting, Wallace and Bates had a broader purpose for travelling to the Amazon: solving the mystery of the causes of organic evolution. [Wallace] had not been a convert to biological evolution until he read Robert Chambers's controversial, anonymously published Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation about 1845, the year it was published. That one might demonstrate the fact of evolution through a detailed tracing out of individual phylogenies over time and space was apparent to him early on, and the Amazon was to afford a natural laboratory to this end" (ODNB). Wallace published the present work and Bates The Naturalist on the River Amazons (1863). Wallace followed this expedition with a trip to the Malay Archipelago. Written while collecting in Sarawak, his 1855 paper "On the Law which has regulated the Introduction of New Species" was noticed by Charles Lyell, who in turn drew it to Charles Darwin's attention. The result was the landmark joint presentation of Wallace's and Darwin's First edition, in the first issue binding, of Wallace's account of the famous expedition to the Amazon basin jointly undertaken with Henry Walter Bates. There were 750 copies of the first edition printed, of which 250 were reissued in a remainder binding of green cloth. Inspired by William Henry Edwards's Voyage up the River Amazon (1847), Wallace and Bates set off for the Amazon in 1848. "Apart from meeting their immediate goal of earning a living through natural history collecting, Wallace and Bates had a broader purpose for travelling to the Amazon: solving the mystery of the causes of organic evolution. [Wallace] had not been a convert to biological evolution until he read Robert Chambers's controversial, anonymously published Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation about 1845, the year it was published. That one might demonstrate the fact of evolution through a detailed tracing out of individual phylogenies over time and space was apparent to him early on, and the Amazon was to afford a natural laboratory to this end" (ODNB). Wallace published the present work and Bates The Naturalist on the River Amazons (1863). Wallace followed this expedition with a trip to the Malay Archipelago. Written while collecting in Sarawak, his 1855 paper "On the Law which has regulated the Introduction of New Species" was noticed by Charles Lyell, who in turn drew it to Charles Darwin's attention. The result was the landmark joint presentation of Wallace's and Darwin's findings on natural selection at the Linnean Society in 1858. Provenance: with the engraved armorial bookplate of the American botanist Frances Louise Jewett (b. 1906) on the front pastedown. Jewett graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. and M.A. in Botany in 1928 and 1930 respectively. She subsequently became a laboratory assistant and instructor in botany at Wellesley, and published several pieces within the field, including on tobacco's resistance to fungus in the Botanical Gazette (1938) and the popular work Plant Hunters (1958), co-authored with Clare L. McCausland. READ MORE Octavo. Original brown cloth, spine lettered in gilt, spine and boards decoratively blocked in blind, pale yellow endpapers, Westleys & Co. binder's ticket on rear pastedown. Tinted lithographic frontispiece, 8 engraved plates, full-page map, folding table, 2 pp. publisher's advertisements at rear. Early ink ownership signature of one F. B. Portman on front pastedown. Cloth notably fresh, expertly recased and restored at spine ends, joints, and inner hinges, corners gently bumped, contents generally clean and evenly toned, a handful of leaves foxed, pp. 18-19 browned from bookmarker sometime laid in, 4 cm closed tear at stub of folding map, loss at lower outer corner of rear free endpaper resulting from tear. A well-preserved copy in the original cloth. Not in Howgego; Borba de Moraes II, p. 933; Speake III, pp. 1263-5; Wallace Online S714.

"A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro" is a travelogue written by Alfred Russel Wallace, a British naturalist and explorer, based on his journey through the Amazon basin in the mid-19th century. The book provides a vivid account of Wallace's adventurous exploration of the Amazon River and its tributary, the Rio Negro, during the years 1848-1852. In the narrative, Wallace describes his encounters with the diverse flora and fauna of the region, including exotic animals, birds, and plants. He meticulously documents his observations of the Amazonian ecosystem, shedding light on the rich biodiversity of the rainforest and its importance to scientific understanding. Throughout his travels, Wallace also interacts with indigenous tribes, learning about their customs, languages, and ways of life. His encounters with native peoples offer valuable insights into their cultures and traditions, as well as the challenges they face in the rapidly changing landscape of the Amazon. Wallace's narrative is not only a captivating travelogue but also a scientific exploration, as he meticulously collects specimens and gathers data to support his research on evolution and biogeography. His observations and discoveries in the Amazon would later contribute significantly to the development of the theory of natural selection, which he co-discovered with Charles Darwin. Overall, "A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro" stands as a compelling account of one man's journey into the heart of the Amazon rainforest, offering readers a glimpse into the wonders of this vast and mysterious region while highlighting the importance of conservation and understanding in preserving its natural beauty and diversity.