The origin of species (1880)

by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London : John Murray, 1880. Sixth edition, with additions and corrections to 1872 (twenty-second thousand). Octavo, full calf prize binding by Bickers and Son, for the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, with their emblem in gilt to the front board, edges rubbed, spine in compartments with title label and gilt ornaments (darkened), marbled edges and endpapers, prize label to front pastedown, pp xxi, [blank], 458, folding lithographed plate, light foxing to preliminaries. A very good, clean copy.

Printed from stereos of the eleventh thousand, and the third issue of the final definitive text, Darwin having made some very minor corrections to the eighteenth thousand (as per Freeman).

This is a notable printing of the Origin as it is the very last time that the Origin was issued by John Murray in Darwin’s lifetime. This particular copy is notable in that it was presented to it’s recipient (G. McCalman) on ‘April 19th 1882’. It was on the afternoon of this day (a Wednesday) that Charles Darwin died.

A fine copy of the sixth edition of one of the most important texts in the history of science. The first edition of 1859, a great rarity, is described in Freeman as “… the most important biological work ever written.”; Dibner, “… the most important single work in science.”; Printing & the Mind of Man, “… 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.”

The sixth edition, extensively rewritten by Darwin and published in 1872, removed the word ‘On’ from the title ‘On the origin of species‘ and includes rebuttal of Roman Catholic biologist St. George Mivart’s theological arguments in his 1871 text On the Genesis of Species. The sixth edition is significant for including the use of the word ‘evolution’ for the first time in furtherance of Darwin’s argument for natural selection. It is the last edition published in Darwin’s lifetime and includes extensive revisions and rewriting by the author. The sixth edition went through numerous printings and includes all Darwin’s revisions since On the origin of species was first released in 1859.

It is considered the definitive text for what many consider to be the most significant scientific book ever published.

Freeman 405