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From the library of Charles Darwin: First edition of Herbert Spencer's The Study of Sociology; with a presentation inscription from Spencer to Darwin
SPENCER, HERBERT [CHARLES DARWIN].
The Study of Sociology.
London: Henry S. King & Co 1873.
First edition, association copy of famed English philosopher Herbert Spencer’s classic work on the evolution of society; presented and inscribed by him to Charles Darwin. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth with gilt titles to the spine, dark green endpapers. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “Charles Darwin with the Author’s kind regards.” English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist Herbert Spencer invented the expression “survival of the fittest” which he coined in his Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859). A description of the mechanism of natural selection, in Principles of Biology, Spencer drew parallels between his own economic theories and Darwin’s biological ones: “This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called ‘natural selection’, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.” Darwin responded positively to Alfred Russel Wallace’s suggestion of using Spencer’s new phrase “survival of the fittest” as an alternative to “natural selection”, and adopted the phrase in The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication published in 1868. In On the Origin of Species, he introduced the phrase in the fifth edition published in 1869, intending it to mean “better designed for an immediate, local environment” (Gould). Darwin wrote on page 6 of The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication published in 1868, “This preservation, during the battle for life, of varieties which possess any advantage in structure, constitution, or instinct, I have called Natural Selection; and Mr. Herbert Spencer has well expressed the same idea by the Survival of the Fittest. The term ‘natural selection’ is in some respects a bad one, as it seems to imply conscious choice; but this will be disregarded after a little familiarity.” He defended his analogy as similar to language used in chemistry, and to astronomers depicting the “attraction of gravity as ruling the movements of the planets”, or the way in which “agriculturists speak of man making domestic races by his power of selection.” Spencer and Darwin were occasional correspondents and would regularly send each other copies of their latest works. Accompanied by an autograph letter signed by Charles Darwin’s great grandson, Edward Darwin, gifting the book to a relative dated November 27th 1969. In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by the Harcourt Bindery. Books from Darwin’s library are very rare to the market.
Price: $110,000.00 Item Number: 141586
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FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE OF CHARLES DARWIN'S THE DESCENT OF MAN; IN THE ORIGINAL CLOTH
DARWIN, CHARLES.
The Descent of Man.
London: John Murray 1871.
First edition, first issue of both volumes (with “transmitted” the first word on p. 297 in the first volume; in the second, the printer’s note on the verso of the half-title, errata on title verso, and the postscript leaf after p. viii. Both volumes have the January ads). Octavo, two volumes, original green cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. In excellent condition with rubbing to the extremities with the spine gilt bright.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 142104
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First Edition of From So Simple A Beginning; Signed by Editor Edward O. Wilson
WILSON, EDWARD O.; CHARLES DARWIN.
From So Simple A Beginning: Darwin’s Four Great Books (Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals).
New York: W.W. Norton & Company 2006.
First edition of this collection of the four works of Darwin. Thick octavo, original half cloth. Signed by the editor, Edward O. Wilson on the title page, who has drawn an image of an ant. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by B. Middleworth.
Price: $500.00 Item Number: 140254
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FIRST EDITION OF CHARLES DARWIN'S THE DESCENT OF MAN; IN THE ORIGINAL CLOTH
DARWIN, CHARLES.
The Descent of Man.
London: John Murray 1871.
First edition of both volumes (with “transmitted” the first word on p. 297 in the first volume; in the second, the printer’s note on the verso of the half-title, errata on title verso, and the postscript leaf after p. viii. both volumes have the January ads). Octavo, two volumes, original green cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. In excellent condition with light rubbing and wear to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 140397
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First Edition of Darwin; Inscribed by Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist James D. Watson
DARWIN, CHARLES; EDITED BY JAMES D. WATSON.
Darwin: The Indelible Stamp.
Philadelphia: Running Press 2005.
First edition of this compilation of Charles Darwin’s most influential works in their entirety contained for the first time in one volume. Thick Octavo, original boards. Presentation copy, inscribed by James Watson on the half-title page, “For Peter and Dori from Jim.” Fine in a fine dust jacket. Text includes commentary by Nobel laureate James Watson.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 140401
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First edition of Charles Darwin's The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication
DARWIN, CHARLES.
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication.
New York: Orange Judd & Company 1868.
First edition of Darwin’s hypothesis of pangenesis. Octavo, original publisher’s green cloth with gilt titles to the spine, illustrated with numerous in-text illustrations and a chart. Preface by Asa Gray. In near fine condition. An exceptional example.
Price: $850.00 Item Number: 137161
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"In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed": The Authorized Edition of The Works of Charles Darwin; Finely Bound
DARWIN, CHARLES.
The Works of Charles Darwin. Including: The Origin of Species; The Descent of Man; Variation of Plants and Animals Under Domestication; Formation of Vegetable Mould; The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom; The Movement and Habits of Climbing Plants; The Various Contrivances by Which Orchids are Fertilised by Insects. Second Edition, Revised. A Naturalist’s Voyage. Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of Countries Visited During the Voyage of the H.M.S Beagle; The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species.
New York: D. Appleton and Company 1896-97.
The Authorized edition of the works of Charles Darwin. Octavo, 15 volumes, bound in original three quarters morocco, gilt titles to the spine, top edge gilt, illustrated with in-text drawings and plates, some volumes with frontispieces. In near fine condition. An exceptional set.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 133260
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First Edition of Charles Darwin's Insectivorous Plants
DARWIN, CHARLES.
Insectivorous Plants.
London: John Murray 1875.
First edition of this classic work by Darwin. Octavo, original green cloth with gilt titles to the spine, woodcut illustrations by Darwin and his sons, George and Francis Darwin. In very good condition. Bookplate and Henry Southeran’s bookseller ticket to the pastedown.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 132980
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Charles 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.
London: John Murray 1892.
Sixth edition, one of 2,000 copies of “certainly the most important biological book ever written” (Freeman). Octavo, bound in original cloth, gilt titles to the spine. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box. A nice presentation.
Price: $2,750.00 Item Number: 119959
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“Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends": First Edition of Charles 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.
London: John Murray 1859.
First edition of “certainly the most important biological book ever written” (Freeman), one of 1250 copies. Octavo, bound in original cloth, half-title, one folding lithographed diagram, without advertisements. In very good condition with cracks to inner hinges and a touch of shelfwear. Housed in a custom clamshell box. A fine example of this landmark work.
Price: $400,000.00 Item Number: 116380