Books

First edition of the author's major explanatory work on evolution, coining the term "pure Darwinism" and defending it against assorted critics and sceptics. Wallace also begins to synthesize Darwinian natural selection with Weismann's theories of heredity. Wallace "used his authority as one of the founders of evolution by natural selection to reimagine what he called 'pure Darwinism' as a teleological evolutionism, one that integrated the theory of natural selection with an interpretation of spirit phenomena, thereby producing a more agreeable and holistic account of life than was previously associated with Darwinian evolution" (Hesketh, p. 171). The book is based on the series of lectures Wallace gave across the United States from 1886 to 1887. It "achieved considerable popularity and ranks among his best-known works" (ODNB). Provenance: Dr Rothsay C. Stewart, MRCS (1854-1947), assistant medical officer at the County Lunatic Asylum, Leicester. Stewart's 1889 signature is at the head of the half-title. Octavo. Original green cloth, spine lettered and ruled in gilt, covers ruled in blind, dark green endpapers. Portrait frontispiece with tissue guard, colour folding map, numerous illustrations and tables within text. Cloth bright, minimal wear, slight toning to spine, sporadic foxing to contents: a very good copy indeed. Freeman A1015. Ian Hesketh, "The First Darwinian: Alfred Russel Wallace and the Meaning of Darwinism", Journal of Victorian Culture, vol. 25, no. 2, Apr. 2020.