1892 The Descent of Man – Charles Darwin Rare Edition
Author: Charles Darwin.
Title: The DESCENT OF MAN and Selection in Relation to Sex. Complete in One Volume.
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1892.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 " X 5 ".
Pages: xvi-688 pages + publisher's catalogue.
Binding: Attractive and near fine publisher’s original red cloth binding, decoratively blind-stamped with botanical border designs on both boards and gilt lettering to the spine (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. An attractive and well-preserved example of the publisher’s cloth.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light toning - as shown). Early ownership signature “H. D. Barnett” to front endpaper. Bookplate of Gardner H. Narbonne (Los Angeles, Calif.) to front pastedown.
Illustrations: Illustrated with numerous in-text wood engravings, including detailed zoological and entomological figures (beetles, orthoptera, etc.), printed with excellent clarity and strong impression.
Estimate: (USD 250 - 300)
The book: Rare and attractive 19th-century one-volume edition of The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex -- a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871, which applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection, a form of biological adaptation distinct from, yet interconnected with, natural selection. The book discusses many related issues, including evolutionary psychology, evolutionary ethics, differences between human races, differences between sexes, the dominant role of women in mate choice, and the relevance of the evolutionary theory to society.
The author: Charles Robert Darwin, FRS FRGS FLS FZS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. His proposition that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors is now widely accepted and considered a foundational concept in science. In a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace, he introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.