The Naturalist on the River Amazons.

a supporter of darwinian evolution

First edition of this 'major contribution to the knowledge and literature of Amazonia' by a significant colleague of Charles Darwin (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).

Henry Walter Bates (1825-1892) was a self-taught naturalist and friend of Alfred Russell Wallace. In 1848, at Wallace's suggestion, the pair set out on a specimen collecting trip to the Amazon 'in the hope of contributing ideas to the debate about the origin of species' (ODNB). Wallace returned to Britain in 1852, but Bates stayed for eleven years and 'dispatched some 14,700 species back to England, 8000 of them new to science' (ODNB). On his return he began publishing a series of significant scientific papers, the most important of which described the phenomenon now known as Batesian mimicry, in which a species evolves to mimic another that is toxic or otherwise dangerous to predators.

'The phenomenon offered supporting evidence to the arguments on natural selection expounded by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species (1859). In a letter to Bates in November 1862, Darwin described the paper as one of the most "remarkable and admirable" he had ever read (Stecher, 36), and Bates became an advocate of Darwinian ideas, making early reference to them at meetings of the Entomological and Linnean societies. In 1860 the two men had begun a correspondence which lasted until Darwin's death in 1882. Darwin frequently asked Bates for information on the insects and other wildlife of Amazonia, and it was at his suggestion that Bates wrote an account of his travel experiences, Darwin recommending Bates to his own publisher, John Murray' (ODNB).

The Naturalist on the River Amazons 'was an immediate success and has become a travel classic. It remained in print through the nineteenth century, in eight editions, and was also published in Russian, German, and Swedish in 1865, 1866, and 1872 respectively. It is a curiously structured book, part detailed diary, part general account of the region, and part precise description of particular fauna, but it provides a fascinating record of the natural environment and wildlife of Amazonia before the major impact of the rubber boom. There are also detailed descriptions of the way of life and customs of Amerindian groups Bates encountered on his travels. The book's enduring appeal lies in its elegant yet scientific pen-portraits of places, people, and wildlife, as in his description of the wings of the varied and beautiful butterflies he observed around Ega' (ODNB).

First edition; 2 vols, 8vo; engraved frontispiece in each volume, 7 plates, folding map, engravings within the text, 32-page publisher's ads at rear of volume I, Edmonds & Remnants ticket to rear pastedown of volume I, contemporary blindstamp of J. & T. Spencer bookseller of Leicester to front free endpaper of volume I, contemporary ownership signature to the front blank of volume Iresidue of printed material to front pastedown of volume I, short closed tear in the margin of leaf EE in volume II, some spotting to contents, primarily the early and late leaves of volume I, contents lightly toned; original reddish-brown publisher's cloth, titles to spines and pictorial design to upper boards gilt, red endpapers, cloth rubbed with some wear at the corners and ends of spines, spines toned, some small marks and spots, endpapers of volume I partially darkened, rear hinge of volume II just starting, very good condition; 351 & 423pp.