FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF DARWIN'S FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK
Journal of Researches into the Natural History & Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage Round the World of H.M.S. Beagle, under the Command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N.
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1846.
Price:
$2,500.00
First American edition. 2 vols. Small 8vo. Volumes: 2. Publisher's cloth, spine chipped with loss, wityh blindstamps on title-page from GTS. Freeman 16; Sabin 18647.
Item #371065
First American edition of Darwin's important first published book, containing the observations and field work that form the basis for On the Origin of Species. "The five years of the voyage were the most important event in Darwin's intellectual life and in the history of biological science. Darwin sailed with no formal scientific training. He returned a hard-headed man of science, knowing the importance of evidence, almost convinced that species had not always been as they were since the creation but had undergone change... The experiences of his five years in the Beagle, how he dealt with them, and what they led to, built up into a process of epoch-making importance in the history of thought" (DSB). Darwin's Journal, "his first published book, is undoubtedly the most often read" (Freeman, 31). It is "one of the most interesting records of natural history exploration ever written and is one of the most important, for it was on this voyage that Darwin prepared for his lifework, ultimately leading to The Origin of Species" (Hill I, 104-5). First published in 1839 as "the third volume of The Narrative of the Voyages of H.M. Ships Adventure and Beagle, edited by Captain Robert Fitzroy... Since then it has changed its name four times, so that today it is universally referred to as The Voyage of the Beagle. On its first appearance in its own right, also in 1839, it was called Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History etc. The second edition, of 1845, transposes 'Geology' and 'Natural History'... and the spine title is Naturalist's Voyage" (Freeman, 32). This first American edition is based on that 1845 second London edition. Issued as Harper's New Miscellany, Volumes X and XI.
Item #371065
First American edition of Darwin's important first published book, containing the observations and field work that form the basis for On the Origin of Species. "The five years of the voyage were the most important event in Darwin's intellectual life and in the history of biological science. Darwin sailed with no formal scientific training. He returned a hard-headed man of science, knowing the importance of evidence, almost convinced that species had not always been as they were since the creation but had undergone change... The experiences of his five years in the Beagle, how he dealt with them, and what they led to, built up into a process of epoch-making importance in the history of thought" (DSB). Darwin's Journal, "his first published book, is undoubtedly the most often read" (Freeman, 31). It is "one of the most interesting records of natural history exploration ever written and is one of the most important, for it was on this voyage that Darwin prepared for his lifework, ultimately leading to The Origin of Species" (Hill I, 104-5). First published in 1839 as "the third volume of The Narrative of the Voyages of H.M. Ships Adventure and Beagle, edited by Captain Robert Fitzroy... Since then it has changed its name four times, so that today it is universally referred to as The Voyage of the Beagle. On its first appearance in its own right, also in 1839, it was called Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History etc. The second edition, of 1845, transposes 'Geology' and 'Natural History'... and the spine title is Naturalist's Voyage" (Freeman, 32). This first American edition is based on that 1845 second London edition. Issued as Harper's New Miscellany, Volumes X and XI.
