Title: A History of British Birds Author: Bewick, Thomas Place: Newcastle Publisher: T. Bewick Date: 1826 Description: 2 vols. xliv, 382; xxii, 432 pp. Illustrated with numerous wood engravings of land & water birds by Bewick. (8vo) 21.2x13.4 cm. (8½x5¼"), period half calf and marbled boards, morocco labels. Charles Darwin’s copy, signed and dated (1840) by him on the title-page of each volume, and containing additional autograph notations by Darwin. In 1840 Darwin was in process of formulating his Theory of Evolution, and Darwin’s examination and notation of this book may possibly have been for the purpose of supplementary fact-finding and corroboration for his theory. Each volume contains one or two page citations in Darwin’s hand on the rear flyleaf, together with marginal sidelining on the cited text page; in addition, there is an additional hard-to-read notation on the first page of each volume’s preface which is probably also in Darwin’s hand. Volume I of Bewick’s work treats land birds; volume II treats marine birds. The rear flyleaf citation in volume I is especially notable as it pertains to text about the “Canary Finch.” Darwin’s interest in finches from an evolutionary perspective is well known and documented. Indeed, the variation in species of finches from the Galapagos Islands was in fact one of the primary impetuses to Darwin’s formulation of the Theory of Evolution – Darwin himself most significantly writing in his Journal of the Beagle’s voyage: “Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends.” In the context of Bewick’s book, Darwin would here appear to be gathering comparative data about the British finch for the sake of further consolidating his emerging evolutionary viewpoint – in keeping with his 1844 statement to Hooker that “I was so struck with the original distribution of the Galapagos organisms … that I determined to collect blindly every sort of fact, which could bear any way on what are species.” Most of the books from Darwin’s library are institutionally owned, and instances of any book from his library are accordingly exceptionally rare in commerce. Highly Important. Lot Amendments Condition: Bindings with some rubbing and wear, spine labels chipped and partially perished; title-page and endpaper of Vol. II loose; some occasional foxing - still very good, a highly significant volume from Charles Darwin's library. Item number: 229305
Title: A History of British Birds Author: Bewick, Thomas Place: Newcastle Publisher: T. Bewick Date: 1826 Description: 2 vols. xliv, 382; xxii, 432 pp. Illustrated with numerous wood engravings of land & water birds by Bewick. (8vo) 21.2x13.4 cm. (8½x5¼"), period half calf and marbled boards, morocco labels. Charles Darwin’s copy, signed and dated (1840) by him on the title-page of each volume, and containing additional autograph notations by Darwin. In 1840 Darwin was in process of formulating his Theory of Evolution, and Darwin’s examination and notation of this book may possibly have been for the purpose of supplementary fact-finding and corroboration for his theory. Each volume contains one or two page citations in Darwin’s hand on the rear flyleaf, together with marginal sidelining on the cited text page; in addition, there is an additional hard-to-read notation on the first page of each volume’s preface which is probably also in Darwin’s hand. Volume I of Bewick’s work treats land birds; volume II treats marine birds. The rear flyleaf citation in volume I is especially notable as it pertains to text about the “Canary Finch.” Darwin’s interest in finches from an evolutionary perspective is well known and documented. Indeed, the variation in species of finches from the Galapagos Islands was in fact one of the primary impetuses to Darwin’s formulation of the Theory of Evolution – Darwin himself most significantly writing in his Journal of the Beagle’s voyage: “Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends.” In the context of Bewick’s book, Darwin would here appear to be gathering comparative data about the British finch for the sake of further consolidating his emerging evolutionary viewpoint – in keeping with his 1844 statement to Hooker that “I was so struck with the original distribution of the Galapagos organisms … that I determined to collect blindly every sort of fact, which could bear any way on what are species.” Most of the books from Darwin’s library are institutionally owned, and instances of any book from his library are accordingly exceptionally rare in commerce. Highly Important. Lot Amendments Condition: Bindings with some rubbing and wear, spine labels chipped and partially perished; title-page and endpaper of Vol. II loose; some occasional foxing - still very good, a highly significant volume from Charles Darwin's library. Item number: 229305
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