“THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE WORK IN SCIENCE”: FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF DARWIN’S ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES

DARWIN, Charles. On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection, Or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle For Life. New York: D. Appleton, 1860. Octavo, original brown cloth. $5000.

First American edition, third issue, of “certainly the most important biological book ever written” (Freeman), published within one year of publication of the London first edition, and with the same text.

"This, the most important single work in science, brought man to his true place in nature" (Heralds of Science 199). Darwin "was intent upon carrying Lyell's demonstration of the uniformity of natural causes over into the organic world… In accomplishing this Darwin not only drew an entirely new picture of the workings of organic nature; he revolutionized our methods of thinking and our outlook on the natural order of things. The recognition that constant change is the order of the universe had been finally established and a vast step forward in the uniformity of nature had been taken" (PMM 344). Third issue, with three quotations opposite title page, and "revised edition" on title page. However, "The texts of the first three [issues] are identical, in spite of the statement on the title page of the third, and follow that of the first English [edition]" (Freeman, 83). The whale-bear story is included in full. Freeman 379. See Horblit, 23b; Dibner, 199; PMM 344b. Owner signature, a few marginal pencil annotations.

Foxing to text; cloth toned, with some soiling to lower spine, one mark to front board, wear to spine ends. A very good copy.