Skip to main content

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 1
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 2
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 3
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 4
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 5
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 6
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 7
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 8
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 9
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 10
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 11
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 12
DARWIN (CHARLES) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 other first editions by Darwin (11) image 13
Lot 35

DARWIN (CHARLES)
On the Origin of Species, FIRST EDITION, John Murray, 1859; and 8 others by Darwin

14 November 2023, 14:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £51,200 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Books & Manuscripts specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

DARWIN (CHARLES)

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, FIRST EDITION, with misprint 'speceies' on p.20, line 11, and with the whale-bear story in full on p.184, folding lithographed diagram by W. West, without half-title and publisher's catalogue at end [Freeman 373; Garrison-Morton 220; Norman 593; PMM 344], John Murray, 1859; Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries visited by H. M. S. Beagle, 2 charts (folding), occasional foxing, some offsetting [Freeman 11], Henry Colburn, 1839; On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects, one folding plate and 33 woodcuts in the text, faint spotting to title [Freeman 800], John Murray, 1862; The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, 2 vol., FIRST ISSUE, 43 illustrations, with errata, light foxing [Freeman 877], John Murray, 1868; The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, 2 vol., wood-engraved illustrations, damp-staining to lower margin of title and first few leaves of volume 1, light foxing [Freeman 938], John Murray, 1871; The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, 7 heliotype plates (3 folding), illustrations in the text, upper margin a little shaved, occasional light spotting [Freeman 1142], John Murray, 1872; The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom, light spotting to title, lacks errata slip [Freeman 1249], John Murray, 1876; The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species, illustrations and tables in the text, light spotting and toning mostly to title [Freeman 1277], John Murray, 1877; The Power of Movement in Plants, illustrations in the text, light toning [Freeman 1325], John Murray, 1880, FIRST EDITIONS, without half-titles and advertisements, uniformly bound in half calf over marbled boards, gilt lettering and tooling within raised bands to spine, 8vo (11)

Footnotes

A FINELY BOUND SET OF DARWIN FIRST EDITIONS, INCLUDING THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, "THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE WORK IN SCIENCE" (Dibner, Heralds of Science).

This set of first editions was previously owned by Stephen George Holland, founder of cloth merchants Holland and Sherry and heir to Holland and Sons, the renowned cabinet-makers of Victorian England. Holland not only owned an extensive art collection - including numerous artworks by Turner, Gainsborough, Landseer and Constable – but was also an avid bibliophile and his bookplate is found on many books on the market today including works by Dickens, Shelley and Carroll.

Provenance: Stephen George Holland (1817-1908), cloth merchant and art collector, bookplate; Quentin Keynes (1921-2003); acquired from him by the family of the present owner.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

ADVERTISING POSTERfor 'The Suffragette' newspaper, [c.1913-1914]

ARCHITECTURE - STUART (JAMES) AND NICHOLAS REVETT The Antiquities of Athens, 4 vol. bound in 2, 1825-1830

ILLUMINATED ADDRESS – CLARA CODD Illuminated printed address signed by Emmeline Pankhurst, [1909]

ARMENIAN - HISTORY, THEOLOGY AND PRINTING. Group of books/a map in Armenian, c.1825-1901 (12)

MUSIC & RECORDINGS – ETHEL SMYTH Collection of printed music, song sheets and records, [c.1911-1912]

BANK NOTES - MANUFACTURING BRADBURY (HENRY) On the Security and Manufacture of Bank Notes, FIRST EDITION, Bradbury and Evans, 1856