DARWIN, CHARLES. 1809-1882.


On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1860. 8vo. Folding lithographed plate. Publisher's brown blind-stamped cloth. Chipping to head of spine, corners bumped, browning.Provenance: William Coleman (1934-1988), President, History of Science Society (partially erased pencil ownership inscription).FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, with two quotations on the verso of the half-title. "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" (PMM). Noting the Origin of Species' dramatic impact in Britain in November of 1859, American scientist Asa Gray was eager to bring Darwin's book to the American public as soon as possible and began to arrange its publication in Boston in 1860. However, the New York firm of Appleton had beat him to it by mid-January, printing the first American appearance of "the most important biological work ever written" (Freeman 377); see Garrison-Morton 220 and PMM 344.