Darwinism.

First edition and an attractive copy of one of the most popular books by the co-discoverer of the theory of evolution by natural selection. From the library of chemist and bibliophile Dr. Sydney Ross, with his bookplate.

Alfred Russel Wallace's scientific work in the Malay Peninsula, and the joint announcement of his and Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection in 1858, made him one of the great figures of nineteenth-century science. By the end of his life 'he had become one of the best-known scientists in the world - "the Grand Old Man of Science" (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). In 1886 he was invited to give a series of lectures at the Lowell Institute in Boston, and they served 'the point of departure for a new book, Darwinism (1889), which achieved considerable popularity and ranks among his best-known works (ODNB).

Far more than a popular account of evolutionary science, Darwinism was a significant statement of Wallace's approach, advocating a pure theory without the addition of sexual selection and the inheritance of acquired characteristics, and laying the foundation for the neo-Darwinian synthesis of the 20th century (Romanes, Darwin After Darwin).

First edition; 8vo; portrait frontispiece from a photograph, colour folding map, engravings and charts within the text, single leaf of undated publisher's ads at rear, bookplate of Dr. Sydney Ross, earlier ownership signature of J. Wilcox to the half-title, contents lightly toned; original green cloth, titles to spine gilt, green coated endpapers, cloth rubbed with some wear at the extremities and darkening of the spine and edges, a very good copy; 494pp.