Tropical nature, and other essays

London : Macmillan and Co., 1878. Second edition. Octavo, gilt-lettered green cloth (lightly marked, bruised at head and foot of spine), armorial bookplate of Thomas Merthyr Guest (1838-1904) to front pastedown, hinges slightly cracked, pp. xiii; [iii]; 356; (1 – catalogue); (blank), occasional light foxing, a very good copy of a book difficult to find in collectable condition.

A collection of scientific essays and narratives by the great naturalist based on 12 years field observation in South East Asia and South America.

In 1854 Wallace sailed for the Malay regions after a previous expedition had taken him to the Amazon. Wallace travelled in search for exotic species and the study of foreign people, a journey which would last for eight years. In 1858, he was struck by the biological theory of natural selection, and wrote a highly significant paper on the subject, which he sent to Charles Darwin. Wallace’s theories on natural selection were developed in tandem with Darwin’s, with Darwin incorporating a number of Wallace’s ideas into his own.