The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1871. First American edition. Hardcover. 2 vol. 8vo. [3], iv-vi, [1], 2-409, [1], [2] (pages of publisher's advertisements) [2]; [3], iv-v, [4], 2-436, [6] (pages of publisher's advertisements), [2] pp. Orange-red cloth with black decorations on the boards and gold lettering on the spines. Yellow coated endpapers and pastedowns. With several in-text illustrations. Freeman 129-131. Oxford DNB, Adrian Desmond, James Moore and Janet Browne, "Darwin, Charles Robert, (1809–1882)". With the postscript in volume two, both versos of our title pages are blank. Both title pages dated 1871. These volumes contain the first appearance of the word evolution, and a verbal description of humanity's ancient ancestors, which was no doubt distrubing to Victorian sensibilities. Darwin painted human ancestors as hairy tree dwellers. The majority of the book however, focuses on sexual selection among other animal species. The first print run was very popular, selling 5000 copies right away. A landmark work in biological science, a paradigm shift in the way the animal kingdom's history was understood. Good+. Item #000010496
Both volumes have been rebacked (within the past 40 years) with strips of the original spine cloth laid down, later endpapers placed before and after the originals in each volume. A few leaves reattached and realigned to the gutters with archival tape.
Price: $650.00