Charles DARWIN: On the Various Contrivances by which British / 1st Edition 1862
$3,940 · Offered by eBay
First edition
On the Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing Author: DARWIN, Charles Title: On the Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing Publication: London, John Murray, 1862 (first edition, first issue) Edition: First Edition Description: Octavo, vi, 366, 32 (publisher's advertisements) pages with 34 wood-engraved illustrations (some full-page, one a folding plate additional to the pagination). Ribbon-embossed plum cloth blocked in gilt and blind; covers slightly worn at the corner-tips and unevenly sunned on the spine; old repair to a split at the head of the front joint; contemporary library stamps to a dozen pages (but see our footnote); front hinge cracked but firm; a few other minor signs of age and handling; a very good copy. The scarce first issue of Darwin's first major work after 'On the Origin of Species' (1859). Its exploration of the mechanisms of pollination offered a persuasive, observable demonstration of his theory of natural selection in operation, in particular through the coevolution of insects and the sexual structures of the orchids that they fertilise. Although praised by botanists, the book did not sell well, and in later issues the sheets from the first printing were offered in a variant binding and with advertisements dated as late as 1871. This example is in the first-issue binding and has a
- Publisher: John Murray
- Year: 1862
- Binding: Hardcover
- Condition: Very Good
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