Darwin’s 75p book set to fetch £77,000
Tuesday 13th December 2011, 10:59AM GMT.
A rare first edition of Shrewsbury-born naturalist Charles Darwin’s seminal book On The Origin of Species is expected to fetch up to £77,000 when it goes under the hammer in New York today.
The 150-year-old copy of the book will be auctioned at Sotheby’s and is one of only 1,250 first edition copies published on November 24, 1859, when Darwin was 50.
The book, described as a ‘handsome copy’ by auctioneers, is expected to sell for between £51,000 and £77,000.
At the time of its publication the book cost fifteen shillings, the equivalent of 75p today.
Although 1,250 first edition copies were printed around 80 were presentation or review copies. The remaining 1,170 copies sold out immediately.
A second edition of 3,000 copies was published on January 7, 1860.
In April 2005, Sotheby’s sold a copy of On The Origin Of Species for £69,070, while at the same auction a single handwritten 159-word page from Darwin’s original manuscript for the book sold for nearly £144,000 making it the most valuable piece of writing by any Shropshire-born author.
The scientist was born in Shrewsbury on February 12, 1809 the son of Shrewsbury’s principal physician, Robert Waring Darwin.
On The Origin of Species caused controversy on its publication, but has gone on to be described as the most important single work in science and the foundation of evolutionary biology.
His publisher John Murray agreed to print the book without even seeing the manuscript, and Darwin was paid £180 for the first edition.
Darwin planned to title the book “An abstract of an essay on the origin of species and varieties through natural selection” but his publisher persuaded him to opt for a snappier title.
By Catherine Ferris
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