Darwin

Best.-Nr. 67910 — Fine illustrated and antiquarian Natural history . 1st. Ed. 3rd. Iss. Pub. London Henry Colburn. 1840. pp.i-iv vii viii-xiv 615 pp.609-629 addenda plus 2 fold out charts at pp.xiv and pp.538 4 text woodcuts and 16-pages of Colburn adverts dated August 1839. 8vo. Hardback. Internally nr. fine with minor scattered spotting to contents and a neat repair to one fold-out plate. Original decorated blue cloth with spine professionally relaid and neat restoration to the imprint. Loosely inserted on ‘The Athenaeum Pall Mall London’ headed paper is a handwritten note dated 22/04/1947 by the then purchaser of this copy in which he explains who he bought the book from. A most pleasing copy. Freeman 12. Darwin’s ‘first published book is undoubtedly the most often read and stands second only to On the origin of species as the most often printed. It is an important travel book in its own right and its relation to the background of his evolutionary ideas has often been stressed’ Freeman. It first appeared in its own right in 1839. We offer for sale here a copy of the ‘final third issue of the first edition and it is identical to the second except that the conjugate half-title and title leaves have been reprinted. This is the scarcest of the three but in my experience the maps are always inserted in the text. Some copies also have the 16 pp inserted advertisements of August 1839.’ Freeman. Fine illustrated and antiquarian Natural history hardcover