DARWIN Charles On the Origin of Species by means of natural Selection, of the Preservation of favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Fifth thousand.

Freeman, F-376, variant a ; Horblit 23b and PMM, 344 b (both for the first edition 1859).

Second edition, containing mostly the original text of the first edition but with a few authorial corrections, the most notable being the dilution of Darwin’s “whale-bear” story, where he speculated that a bear scooping insects from the water may evolve into a whale-like creature. The hypothesis was seen as absurd at the time, and was seized upon by Darwin’s critics to ridicule and criticize both the scientist and his evolutionary theory; Charles Lyell advised him to remove it entirely.

This copy is dated 1860 (there are very few known copies bearing the date 1859) and bears the usual indication of ‘Fifth Thousand’ on the title page, noting the total number of copies printed since the first ; there is no printed indication of ‘Second edition’ on the title.

“[In The Origin of Species] Darwin not only drew an entirely new picture of the workings of organic nature; he revolutionized our methods of thinking and our outlook on the natural order of things. The recognition that constant change is the order of the universe had been finally established and a vast step forward in the uniformity of nature had been taken. The scientific-cum-theological dogma of the immutability of species had been proof against sceptics, from Lucretius to Lamarck, who guessed at what Darwin was the first to prove. From being an a priori anticipation the theory of evolution became with Darwin an interpretation of nature and eventually a causal theory affecting evert department of scientific research” (PMM).

Association copy

This copy belonged to the French scientist and medical doctor Henry Gueneau de Mussy (1814-1892) and bears his bookplate. Henry Gueneau de Mussy is well connected to the scientists and doctors of his time : his father Philibert is one of the founding fathers of the Universite de France, his mother Augustine de Hallé, daughter Jean Noël Hallé, a famous French physician of the early 19th century. The Gueneau de Mussy family was also related to Voltaire and Buffon. Having finished his secondary studies at the age of 16, Henry Gueneau de Mussy studies natural sciences and anatomy and started his medical career as an intern with the famous medical doctor Dupuytren in 1832. Having received a Gold medal in 1837 of the École pratique he continues his work under the guidance of Chomel, another well-known physician of the time. Having published his thesis in 1839 his is offered the position of medical doctor at French Public Hospitals in 1842, from 1847 onwards he teaches at the Faculté de Médecine until his retirement 1878.

Some overall wear.