DARWIN CharlesABAA
DARWIN CHARLESABAA
The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex
18712173London: John Murray 1871. First edition. Original cloth. Very Good. FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE one of only 2500 copies in original cloth of Darwin's seminal work on the evolution of man. "This is really two works. The first demolished the theory that the universe was created for Man while in the second Darwin presented a mass of evidence in support of his earlier hypothesis regarding sexual selection. In the Origin Darwin had avoided discussing the place occupied by homo sapiens in the scheme of natural selection stating only that `light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history.' Twelve years later he made good his promise with The Descent of Man in which he compared man's physical and psychological characteristics to similar traits in apes and other animals showing how even man's mind and moral sense could have developed through evolutionary processes. In discussing man's ancestry Darwin did not claim that man was directly descended from apes as we know them today but stated simply that the extent ancestors of homo sapiens would have to be classified among the primates; however this statement as misinterpreted by the popular press caused a furor second only to that raised by the Origin" Norman 599. "The word `evolution' occurs for the first time in any of Darwin's works on page 2 of the first volume of the first edition" Freeman p.129.<br /> <br /> London: John Murray 1871. Octavo original green cloth; custom box. Two volumes. First issue with second volume with errata on verso of title and Postscript leaf tipped in after Contents. With 16-page publishers' catalog at end of each volume dated January 1871 first issue. Nearly invisible expert repair to upper hinge of volume 1; small blindstamp on front free endpapers; foxing to last few leaves of ads in both volumes as often; small hole likely paper flaw and line of soiling to volume 2 title page. A very good copy in original cloth. John Murray unknown books
