The Foundations of the Origin of Species.

First trade printing, published the same year, and largely from the same setting of type, as the privately printed first issue, with an additional essay.

As Darwin's bibliographer R.B. Freeman records, 'When Francis Darwin put together Life and Letters he did not know that the sketch of his father's evolutionary ideas, which was written in 1842, had survived. The pencil manuscript was discovered in 1896, after the death of his mother' (Freeman, The Works of Charles Darwin, p. 182). The first printing of June 23rd, 1909 was published privately for those attending the Cambridge celebration of the centenary of Darwin's birth and fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Origin of Species. 'Later that same year it was reprinted and published together with the sketch of 1844, and in this printing the introduction, repaginated, and the whole of the sketch of 1842 are from the standing type of the first issue; the rest is new' (Freeman).

First edition, 8vo; portrait frontispiece and 1 plate, contemporary ownership signature and date to front free endpaper and front blank, light scattered spotting to the contents and to the edges of the text block; original green cloth, titles to spine gilt, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, spine and edges of boards tanned, cloth lightly rubbed and scuffed, a very good copy; 263pp.

Freeman, The Works of Charles Darwin 1556.