The Formation of Vegetable Mould, through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits
London, John Murray, 1881 (fourth thousand)/ 1881.
Octavo, viii, 326, [2] (list of Darwin's works, colophon) pages with 15 illustrations.
Green cloth lettered and decorated in gilt on the spine, and decorated in blind on the sides; all edges uncut; slight wear to the extremities; leaves adjacent to the endpapers foxed, with scattered light foxing elsewhere; front hinge lightly stabilised; one preliminary leaf creased, with a few short marginal tears expertly sealed; a few minor signs of age and use; a very good copy.
'This last book is outside the main stream of Darwin's work, and reverts to his earlier geological interests. He had indeed published a paper on mould in 1838 in the "Proceedings of the Geological Society of London" (Vol. ii, pp. 5-74-76), which he had read to the Society in the previous year. The book was remarkably successful, selling 6,000 copies within a year, and 13,000 before the end of the century ... Darwin comments that he corrected the sixth thousand of 1882' (Freeman, R.B.: 'The Works of Charles Darwin: An Annotated Bibliographical Handlist', page 33. Freeman 322). Darwin died on 19 April 1882, soon after the publication of this edition. Provenance: Dr Kenneth Ernest Lee (1927-2007), distinguished NZ-born Australian soil scientist, with his signature (and 1982 book purchase details) at the head of the title page. Loosely inserted in the book is his obituary: not least, it records that Lee's influential 1985 publication, 'Earthworms: their Ecology and Relationships with Soils and Land Use' was the direct descendant of Darwin's pioneering work. Mounted on the front pastedown is the earlier armorial bookplate of James Rankin ('Prudentia et Virtute').
Item #144232
Price (AUD):
$750.00