Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$564.77 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: vi 365 pages, indexed, illustrated, plus 32 pages of other John Murray publications. Brown cloth with gilt flower on front panel. The boards: The spine strip is badly damaged, with loss along the edge and tail; the front board wears the remnants of a label, and the edges are chipped. Internally: there are two handwritten numbers on the head of the spine strip, the top one crossed out, the second repeated on the verso of the front end paper; the front end paper and the following blank page are partially detached; there are a series of ownership inscriptions - a stamp on the front end paper; three on the title page as well as two more interspersed along the page's blank edge and o, plus a handwritten one, again on the title page. One of the ownership stamps is superimposed on an association one (ECLECTIC ASSOCIATION of VICTORIA), the latter with its stamp also on the blank edge of the fold out diagram. Over the date of the handwritten one is a perfect small, round ink blob, which has seeped onto its verso and beyond that onto the blank head of the Contents page. And finally two tiny l closed closed tear at the head of pp 181 and 183, and well as minute loss on page 183, all of which could be a printer's fault. It is not a pretty copy, but beyond the preliminaries it is solidly bound and the print unmarked. First edition of this important work. "Fertilisation of Orchids is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin published on 15 May 1862 under the full explanatory title On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects, and On the Good Effects of Intercrossing.[1] Darwin's previous book, On the Origin of Species, had briefly mentioned evolutionary interactions between insects and the plants they fertilised, and this new idea was explored in detail.The book was his first detailed demonstration of the power of natural selection, and explained how complex ecological relationships resulted in the coevolution of orchids and insects. The view has been expressed that the book led directly or indirectly to all modern work on coevolution and the evolution of extreme specialisation." (Wikipedia)
Seller: Good Reading Secondhand Books, Benalla, VIC, Australia
Price: US$1200.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: vi+365,+[1] pages with one folding plate and 33 woodcuts in text without the advertisements. Small octavo (7 1/2" 4 3/4") bound in full 19th-century calf, spine gilt stamped spine in five compartments divided by double gilt fillets with Rugby School coat of arms to cover. Marbled end pages. (Clark: 180-181); Freeman 800; Norman 595) First edition. Fertilisation of Orchids is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin published on 15 May 1862 under the full explanatory title On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilized by Insects, and On the Good Effects of Intercrossing. Darwin's previous book, On the Origin of Species, had briefly mentioned evolutionary interactions between insects and the plants they fertilized, and this new idea was explored in detail. Field studies and practical scientific investigations that were initially a recreation for Darwina relief from the drudgery of writingdeveloped into enjoyable and challenging experiments. Aided in his work by his family, friends, and a wide circle of correspondents across Britain and worldwide, Darwin tapped into the contemporary vogue for growing exotic orchids. The book was his first detailed demonstration of the power of natural selection, and explained how complex ecological relationships resulted in the coevolution of orchids and insects. The view has been expressed that the book led directly or indirectly to all modern work on coevolution and the evolution of extreme specialisation. It influenced botanists, and revived interest in the neglected idea that insects played a part in pollinating flowers. It opened up the new study areas of pollination research and reproductive ecology, directly related to Darwin's ideas on evolution, and supported his view that natural selection led to a variety of forms through the important benefits achieved by cross-fertilization. Although the general public showed less interest and sales of the book were low, it established Darwin as a leading botanist. Orchids was the first in a series of books on his innovative investigations into plants. Condition: Some scuffing to leather, points rubbed. Provenance: H.M. Fitzgerald (owner's name dated December 1869); Seddon H. Chadwick (owner's name dated May 1943) to front end paper else very good.
Seller: The Book Collector, Inc. ABAA, ILAB, Fort Worth, TX, U.S.A.
Price: US$1208.42 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Probably less than 2000 copies of this 1st edition ever printed. Brown cloth boards with faded gilt lettering to spine. Boards are heavily rubbed. Corners are bumped, edges are worn. Fore edge is curled. Spine covering has been reattached but there are several areas of loss. Both inner hinges are cracked. 365 pp + 32 pp advert section dated December 1861. Bookplate from private library (Bee Research Assoc). Marks from various previous owners. The odd spot of fox here and there. 1 folding plate and 33 woodcuts in the text. Additional photos are available upon request. When securely packed this item will weigh in the region of 659g. Postage within the UK remains at £3. For international orders ABE use an estimate based on a 1kg book. Where a book is lighter/heavier, we will reduce/request additional postage accordingly. We make no profit on postal charges. We expect a parcel of this weight to cost between £14.35 (Europe) and £24.70 (USA) to ship using Royal Mail's International Tracked Service. All our books are photographed so you can see what you are buying. ABE may, however, display a stock image whilst processing ours. (YBP Ref: 030312:15(3f)) Size: 12mo - over 63/4" - 73/4" tall 659 G
Seller: YattonBookShop PBFA, Bristol, United Kingdom
Price: US$1901.67 + shipping
Description: 1st Edition, later issue, 8vo (22cm) vi, 365pp, index, adverts (32pp, dated April 1868). Folding plate (Figure I.) and 33 other black and white text illustrations (figure II - XXXIV). Publisher's dark purple cloth, blind tooled borders and gilt orchid to front board. The original binding has been very skilfully repaired and restored. Very tight and square. A little wrinkling to spine. Slight loss to gilt of spine. Original brown endpapers have new joints made with matching paper stock. Generally very clean throughout with a few minor marks and smudges. An old name appears to have been erased from the fly-leaf. A presentable copy of a distinctive Darwin 1st edition, that is very hard to find in presentable condition. The 1st issue was in ribbed cloth, which tends not to survive well. This later issue purple cloth is not so prone to sunning and wear. A very presentable restored copy in original cloth. Darwin described the origins and writing of this book in his autobiography: "On May 15th, 1862, my little book on the Fertilisation of Orchids which cost me ten months' work, was published: most of the facts had been slowly accumulated during several previous years. During the summer of 1839, and, I believe, during the previous summer, I was led to attend to the cross-fertilisation of flowers by the aid of insects, from having come to the conclusion in my speculations on the origin of species, that crossing played an important part in keeping specific forms constant." Life and letters (Vol. III, p. 274) quotes Asa Gray as saying that "if the Orchid-book (with a few trifling omissions) had appeared before the 'Origin' the author would have been canonised rather than anathematised by the natural theologians', and notes that a review in the Literary Churchman found only one fault 'that Mr. Darwin's expression of admiration at the contrivances in orchids is too indirect a way of saying, "O Lord, how manifold are Thy works." Darwin himself wrote to John Murray on September 24th, 1861, "I think this little volume will do good to the 'Origin', as it will show that I have worked hard at details'. Freeman: F800a
Seller: Gilleasbuig Ferguson Rare Books ABA ILAB, Isle of Skye, United Kingdom
Price: US$2200.29 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 20.5cm x 14.5cm. vi, 366 pages, 32 advertisements, 1 folding plate, black and white illustrations in text. Aged reback with original spine laid down, original maroon cloth, gilt lettering with blind and gilt-stamped decoration. First edition, first issue, of Darwin's first published work after the Origin of Species, providing evidence supporting his theory of evolution through natural selection. Darwin believed this volume tackled the question of design in nature. He maintained that the complex internal arrangements and ornate ridges of orchids were not created for the sake of beauty, but for the functional purpose of facilitating reproduction. Includes a folding wood-engraved plate, 33 wood-engraved illustrations, as well as the gold-blocked orchid illustration on the cover. This copy with the advertisements dated December, 1861. Aged reback with the original spineback laid down with some loss. Minor foxing. Previous owner's names. A few dog-earred corners and some roughly opened edges, a 9.5cm closed tear to fore-edge margin of page 119/120. Shipped Weight: .60 kilos.
Seller: Book Merchant Jenkins, ANZAAB / ILAB, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia
Price: US$2544.05 + shipping
Description: HB. Original gilt stamped cloth recently recased with new endpapers. Ex "Oldham Microscopical Society" library copy with usual stamps. Lacks half title. Title page foxed. Sixteen page publishers catalogue at rear dated January 1872. One folding plate with woodcuts in the text. Library shelf number on spine. Very Good.
Seller: Geoff Blore`s Books, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Price: US$2999.94 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Original maroon cloth with a gilt orchid on the front cover. First Edition. This volume followed Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and further supported his theory of natural selection. Woodcuts and the woodcut folding plate. Repair to spine, some letters missing. Internals nice.
Seller: Pride and Prejudice-Books, Ballston Lake, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$4500.00 + shipping
Description: Text illustrations. Original plum cloth with an orchid in gilt on front cover. Covers and spine worn, spine a bit shabby, chipped at foot. Interior is excellent with a modern presentation signature on front flyleaf.
Seller: B & L Rootenberg Rare Books, ABAA, Sherman Oaks, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$5724.10 + shipping
Description: First edition, first issue, of Darwin's first book following the Origin of Species. This monograph on the structure and function of orchid flowers was "the first of the volumes of supporting evidence" for natural selection (Freeman). The print run is estimated at no more than 2,000 copies, and it is the only Darwin title issued by Murray between 1859 and 1910 not bound in the characteristic green cloth. Orchids is "a methodological masterclass in the scientific use of history, showing how homologies between flower parts - these had been elucidated by previous botanists - allow us to model past evolutionary events. Throughout the book Darwin showed how natural selection can create exquisite co-adaptations between plants and animals and in so doing it founded the science of pollination ecology. He was even able to make predictions based on understanding that the extraordinary morphology of orchid flowers is co-adapted to the morphology and behavior of their pollinating species. Orchids was the first of the botanical books which Darwin published from 1862, all of which 'exalted' plants and showed how closely linked to animals they are. [It] appeared in May 1862 and there were probably only 2,000 copies printed. Although highly praised by botanists at the time, it never sold well" (Freeman), the public remaining more interested in the controversy of evolution than the details. Freeman 800; Norman 595. Octavo. Original plum fine diaper-grain cloth (Freeman's variant b), spine lettered and decorated in gilt, covers ornamentally panelled in blind, front cover with centrally gilt-stamped orchid motif, brown coated endpapers. Folding woodcut plate of the Orchis mascula facing p. 18, 33 woodcuts in text. 32 pp. publisher's advertisements dated September 1871 at rear. Cloth entirely unrestored and binding tight and square, spine sunned, extremities gently rubbed, inner hinges tender but holding firm, contents clean: a very good copy indeed.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom