Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836, describing their Examination of the Southern Shores and SouthAmerica and the Beagle's Circumnavigation of the Globe.
Eur 35,000 / USD 36,700
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London, Henry Colburn, 1839. 3 vols in 4 (vol. 2 having a separate Appendix). 8vo (225 x 150 mm). pp. xxviii, (iv), 597; xiv, (2), 694, (2); viii, 352; xiv 629, (1). index pp. 609-615, with 8 engraved folding maps and charts and 48 plates and charts, and 8 text illustrations. Contemporary calf, richly gilt ornamented spines in 6 compartments, 2 gilt lettered labels, sides with gilt lines and fleurons at corners, bound by Zaehnsdorf.
one of the most famous scientific expeditions in history
A superbly bound and well preserved copy. The first edition of the complete narrative of 'one of the most famous scientific expeditions in history' (DSB). The third volume comprises Darwin's own journal of his voyage in the Beagle, which is the first issue of his first published book.
"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 hardheaded 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. He also developed doubts of the value of the Scriptures as a trustworthy guide to the history of the earth and of man, with the result that he gradually became an agnostic. The experience 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" (Gavin de Beer in DSB).
When Charles Darwin returned from South America on board of the 'M.S Beagle' in 1836, he brought with him the notes and evidence which would form the basis of his landmark theory of evolution of species by a process of natural selection. This theory, published as 'The Origin of Species' in 1859, is the basis of modern biology and the concept of biodiversity.
The copy is bound by Zaehnsdorf, one of the most famous London bookbinders.
Provenance: Armorial bookplate of Fitz Roy Keith Chapman.
Freeman 10, Norman 584.