The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex.
London: John Murray, 1871. 8vo. 2 volumes. viii, 423, [1]; viii, 475, [1] pp. FIRST EDITION, SECOND ISSUE. Green half morocco and cloth boards; excellent condition. Item #14719
First edition, second issue, of Darwin’s classic work on comparative anatomy. By comparing the physiological and psychological aspects of man and ape, he fills in what had been merely suggested in the Origin: that man’s ancestor, if still alive today, would be classified among the primates and on a lower scale than the apes. The last chapter is an added essay on sexual selection, the superior chances of mating that some individuals of one sex have over their rivals. The essay ends with the famous and often misquoted statement, “Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.” “The word ‘evolution’ occurs, for the first time in any of Darwin’s works, on page 2 of the first volume of the first edition” (Freeman, p.129).
Price: $3,000.00