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ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE (1823-1913)
The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-Utan, and the Bird of Paradise. A Narrative of Travel, with Studies of Man and Nature. London: Macmillan & Co., 1869. 2 volumes, 8° (187 x 125 mm). Half-titles, 2 frontispieces, 9 maps (2 folding), 6 plates, numerous illustrations. (Without 2pp. and 52pp. of publisher's ads at end of vol. I, occasional spotting.) Green half cloth, gilt, top edge gilt (extremities rubbed, spine faded). Provenance: Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury, 8th Baronet (1809-1886; ownership inscription dated 1869) -- Royal Societies Club (book label).
FIRST EDITION OF 'ONE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY'S BEST SCIENTIFIC TRAVEL BOOKS' (Smith). Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury inscribed the book in the year of publication; he was a keen botanist and geologist with a particular interest in paleobotany. He collected plant specimens on expeditions to South America in 1833 and South Africa in 1838. 'Wallace's name is now inextricably linked with his travels in the Indonesian region. He spent nearly eight full years there; during that period he undertook about seventy different expeditions resulting in a combined total of around 14,000 miles of travel ... His collecting efforts produced the astonishing total of 125,660 specimens, including more than a thousand species new to science' (Smith). During his travels, Wallace independently formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection. His letter to Darwin in 1858, outlining his ideas, forced Darwin into publishing On the Origins of Species. Wallace dedicates the present work to Darwin 'as a token of personal esteem and friendship [and] also to express my deep admiration for his genuis and his works'. ODNB; Norman 2176; Smith S715 (online bibliography hosted by Western Kentucky University).
The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-Utan, and the Bird of Paradise. A Narrative of Travel, with Studies of Man and Nature. London: Macmillan & Co., 1869. 2 volumes, 8° (187 x 125 mm). Half-titles, 2 frontispieces, 9 maps (2 folding), 6 plates, numerous illustrations. (Without 2pp. and 52pp. of publisher's ads at end of vol. I, occasional spotting.) Green half cloth, gilt, top edge gilt (extremities rubbed, spine faded). Provenance: Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury, 8th Baronet (1809-1886; ownership inscription dated 1869) -- Royal Societies Club (book label).
FIRST EDITION OF 'ONE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY'S BEST SCIENTIFIC TRAVEL BOOKS' (Smith). Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury inscribed the book in the year of publication; he was a keen botanist and geologist with a particular interest in paleobotany. He collected plant specimens on expeditions to South America in 1833 and South Africa in 1838. 'Wallace's name is now inextricably linked with his travels in the Indonesian region. He spent nearly eight full years there; during that period he undertook about seventy different expeditions resulting in a combined total of around 14,000 miles of travel ... His collecting efforts produced the astonishing total of 125,660 specimens, including more than a thousand species new to science' (Smith). During his travels, Wallace independently formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection. His letter to Darwin in 1858, outlining his ideas, forced Darwin into publishing On the Origins of Species. Wallace dedicates the present work to Darwin 'as a token of personal esteem and friendship [and] also to express my deep admiration for his genuis and his works'. ODNB; Norman 2176; Smith S715 (online bibliography hosted by Western Kentucky University).