Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Charles Darwin. The movements and habits of climbing plants. John Murray, 1875.
Price: US$147.30 + shipping
Condition: Poor
Description: Hardcover. Condition: Fair. Ex-library book. Has usual library markings and stamps inside. Usual issues with older books - boards with edge & corner wear. Pages discoloured and uncut.
Seller: LBL Books, Selkirk, OTHER, United Kingdom
DARWIN, Charles.. The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants.. John Murray London, 1875.
Price: US$320.22 + shipping
Description: John Murray. 1875. Second edition, revised. Illustrated. viii, 208 pages + 32 pages of publisher's ads at rear. Hardback, NO DW. Green cloth, gilt to spine. Paper labels have been laid down to front board which are quite rubbed and lacking small portions from edges. Head of spine very pulled and cloth is split at joints with front and rear boards. Paper label near tail of spine, again quite rubbed. Removal of these labels may have been attempted previously. Ownership signature to free endpaper. There is some light foxing to the contents and the inner hinge is visible.
Seller: Addyman Books, Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom
Darwin, Charles. The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants. John Murray, London, 1875.
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Slight wear along bottom edges of boards. Light wear along front edge of spine. Hinge partially cracked at front paste down page, but still fully attached. Previous owner's name written on top edge of first free end page. Otherwise in very good condition.
Seller: The Dawn Treader Book Shop, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A.
DARWIN Charles.. The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants. .. , 1875.
Price: US$430.10 + shipping
Description: London: John Murray 1875. 8vo. Dark green cloth with gilt title to spine. viii 208 32pp. With wood-cut text-illustrations drawn by the author's son George Darwin. Old rubber stamps throughout. FIRST EDITION in book-form stated Second Edition Revised; although noted 'Second Edition' this is the first separate edition following the original printing in The Journal of the Linnean Society. Darwin corrected the text and added new material for this publication which according to the adverts at end was issued in January 1875.
Seller: Berkelouw Rare Books, Berrima, NSW, Australia
Darwin, Charles.. THE MOVEMENTS AND HABITS OF CLIMBING PLANTS.. John Murray, London, 1875.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: viii, 208 pp, small 8vo (7 3/8" H), leather spine with 5 raised bands, black leather title label, gilt lettering & decoration, leather corners, marbled-paper covered boards, marbling to all edges of text block. Marbled endpapers. B&w illustrations. List of other titles by Darwin on verso of title page. The title page states "Second Edition, Revised", but this is the first appearance of the title in book form. It first appeared in the 'Journal of the Linnean Society' in 1865, but "is here reproduced in a corrected and, I hope, clearer form, with some additional facts." - from the author's Preface. Contents: Preface; Twining Plants; Leaf-Climbers; Tendril-Bearers; Tendril-Bearer's - continued; Hook and Root-Climbers - Concluding Remarks; Index. The publisher's catalogue that is sometimes included at the rear of this volume is not present here. Foxing marks on verso of free endpapers and on several adjacent pages, some gilt lettering and decorarion on the spine has faded slightly (not on spine label), darkening to top of text block, very small ink stain on fore-edge of text block - light to moderate edge wear to boards/corners, small areas of flaking to leather on hinges, red leather on spine and somewhat at corners has faded to light brown.
Seller: Capricorn Books, Oakville, ON, Canada
Charles Darwin. The Movement and Habits of Climbing Plants. John Murray, 1875.
Price: US$467.52 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Second edition, revised. John Murray 1875. First John Murray edition. This was originally published ten years earlier in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Original green cloth covers are marked, with rubbing to the edges, rubbed through in places to the joints and spine ends. The binding is starting to come a little loose. Brown coated endpapers, half title spotted, ads at the back spotted, pages a little dust worn and age toned. Fair condition. viii + 208 pp + 32 pages of publishers works at the back dated January 1875.
Seller: Bushido Books, Guildford, United Kingdom
Darwin, Charles. The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants. John Murray, London, 1875.
Price: US$480.32 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: vii, 208 + 32, 13 woodcuts to text. 8vo. HB. 8vo, orig. cloth, gt, minor wear to extemities, inner hinges cracked but firm; browning to margin of half-title; college book-plate to endpaper (no other markings). Very good copy. Second edition, revised. First appearance in book form, and significantly enlarged (the first edition appeared in 1865 in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London). 32-page publisher's advertisements dated January, 1875 bound at rear.Freeman 836.
Seller: PEMBERLEY NATURAL HISTORY BOOKS BA, ABA, Iver, United Kingdom
Price: US$525.15 + shipping
Description: 8vo., Second Edition, with 13 woodcuts in the text, neat contemporary signature on front free endpaper verso; handsomely bound in early twentieth century half calf BY MUDIE, marbled boards, back with five raised bands ruled in gilt, second compartment with leather label lettered and ruled in gilt, third compartment with author's name in gilt, all other compartments tooled in gilt with a floral spray, all edges marbled, marbled endpapers, backstrip faded (but all gilt just legible) else a most attractive copy of a scarce work. The binding is signed on front free endpaper verso. The publisher's catalogue sometimes found at end has not been bound with this copy. The first printing of the first edition was in Vol. IX of the Journal of the Linnean Society of London (dated 1867 but issued in 1865). The present edition, the first in book form, is greatly revised and enlarged; Freeman notes that 1500 copies were printed. The woodcut illustrations are by George Darwin, the author's son. SCARCE. Freeman (Darwin), 220; Freeman (BNHB), 909.
Seller: Island Books, Thakeham, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Charles Darwin. The Movement and Habits of Climbing Plants. John Murray, 1875.
Price: US$698.07 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Second edition, revised. John Murray 1875. First John Murray edition. This was originally published ten years earlier in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Dark green covers are generally clean with some wear to the spine ends and corners, with a few small areas of bubbling and a couple of tiny marks. Top edge a little darkened, front free endpaper is detached, front hinge cracked and a little loose feeling but the rest of the page block is securely bound. The next page is the half title page, unsure whether there is supposed to be a blank page before that. Half title has a previous owners name. Pages a little age toned, there are some pages with slightly creased corners from having been read, plus a few pages with a spot or small mark. The rear free endpaper is starting to come loose and the rear board also has a slightly loose feel. The pages are slightly indented to the bottom inside corner at the spine, possibly has been dropped at some point. Good condition. viii + 208 pages + 32 pages of publishers works at the back dated January 1875.
Seller: Bushido Books, Guildford, United Kingdom
Price: US$1088.73 + shipping
Description: The Second Edition, Revised, but the first edition in hard covers. Publisher's original green cloth, boards panelled in blind in 'arches' style, blind-ruled borders, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, dark brown endpapers. Octavo. (191 x 127mm), pp. [i]-viii, [1]-208, [1]-32 (publisher's catalogue dated October 1875). Wood-engraved illustrations and diagrams in the text after George Darwin. Extremities slightly rubbed, a few light marks, slight cracking on hinges, but, nonetheless a Very Good, fresh copy. This work originally appeared as an article in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London Vol. 9 Nos 33 and 34 and also as two rare off prints. This being the first published edition in hard covers. Darwin corrected the text and added new material for this expanded edition. 1,500 copies were printed. There was a reprint of a further 500 copies in September 1876, with which this copy should not be confused. Freeman 836
Seller: OJ-BOOKS ABA / PBFA, SOLIHULL, United Kingdom
Price: US$1280.86 + shipping
Description: First edition in book form, much preferred by Darwin over his original paper published in 1865 in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society. The work offers supporting evidence for natural selection through observing plant adaptations. Darwin undertook his original research for Climbing Plants during an intense period of ill health and was concerned upon its completion that it would be rejected by the Linnean Society for being too long. He recounted his dissatisfaction with the original paper in Life and Letters: "In the autumn of 1864 I finished a long paper on 'Climbing Plants', and sent it to the Linnean Society. The writing of this paper cost me four months: but I was so unwell when I received the proof-sheets that I was forced to leave them very badly and often obscurely expressed. The paper was little noticed, but when in 1875 it was corrected and published as a separate book it sold well" (vol. I, p. 92). The paper was, however, noticed by Fritz Müller (1822-1897), a biologist living in Brazil, who contacted Darwin with his own observations and specimens to help answer some of the questions unanswered in the original paper. The results of their correspondence are incorporated into this edition. Freeman 836. Francis Darwin, ed., The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, 1887. Octavo. Original green cloth, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, covers panelled in blind, dark brown coated endpapers. With 13 woodcut illustrations by George Darwin. 32 pp. publisher's advertisements dated January 1875 at rear. Wear to extremities, mainly along top edge, cloth clean, gilt bright, front inner hinge split but firm, foxing to endleaves and prelims, 20 mm closed tear resulting in chip at upper margin of sig. B1, contents clean: a very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Darwin, Charles. Insectivorous Plants.. John Murray, London, 1875.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of this classic work by Darwin. Octavo, original green cloth with gilt titles to the spine, woodcut illustrations by Darwin and his sons, George and Francis Darwin. In very good condition. Bookplate and Henry Southeran's bookseller ticket to the pastedown. Darwin states in the opening pages to this comprehensive account: "During the summer of 1860, I was surprised by finding how large a number of insects were caught by the leaves of the common sun-dew (Drosera rotundifolia) on a heath in Sussex. I had heard that insects were thus caught, but knew nothing further on the subject." The book chronicles Darwin's experiments with various carnivorous plants, in which he carefully studied their feeding mechanisms Darwin tried several methods to stimulate the plants into activating their trap mechanisms, including feeding them meat and glass, blowing on them and prodding them with hair. He found that only the movement of an animal would cause the plants to react, and concluded that this was an evolutionary adaptation to conserve energy for prey and to ignore stimuli that were not likely to be nutritious. He also discovered that while some plants have distinct trap-like structures, others produce sticky fluids to ensnare their prey and concluded that this was an example of natural selection pressure resulting in various methods for food capture.
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.