The Origin Of Species By Means of Natural Selection
The famous revisions of the first use of the term 'evolution' and the removal of 'On' from the original title have been repeated from the first printing of the sixth edition of 1872 (eleventh thousand, F391).So, this copy is a very good example of the Sixth 'Eighteenth Thousand' Edition and according to the well credentialled Forum Auctions in London:-" The printing of 1876 is the final text as Darwin left it...The issue was of 1250 copies only. This number is as small as any being equaled only by that of the first edition... and is remarkably hard to come by (Freeman pp 80-81 of F401)" Note: the actual print number as quoted has recently been disputed elsewhere and possibly may have been as many as 2000 copies. Still, very scarce with about 150 years of age patina too.
Specifications
| Author | Darwin, Charles |
| Publisher | John Murray |
| Place Published | London, England |
| Year Published | 1876 (Sixth edition - 18th thousand) with additions and corrections to 1872. |
| Date of First Edition or Edition Notes |
1871 |
| Size | 8vo - Octavo, 152mm x 229mm |
| Chapters | XV |
| Pages | 458pp |
Condition Report
| Cover | Hardcover in publisher's original bottle green cloth with gilt title original a slightly softening spine plus bruised corners and fraying and chipping to top and bottom of spine with a tiny white spine abrasion and no dust wrapper as issued plus a protective cover in clear archival material with top and fore-edges faded green. |
| Overall | Well loved now but overall the condition is still very good despite minor gutter cracking at a few points plus some hinge cracking, an abrasion mark to front free end paper and a small pencil ownership name, with the half-title bearing a tiny tear to the head plus a binder's label to rear pastedown and a Glasgow bookseller's ticket to the front pastedown. the folding plate at page 91 remains attached and undamaged other than peripheral spotting. |