VESTIGES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CREATION; with EXPLANATIONS: A SEQUEL TO VESTIGES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CREATION. [CHAMBERS, Robert].

TWO VOLUMES BOTH FIRST EDITIONS FIRST PRINTINGS, 1844 and 1845. Both 8vo, approximately 210 x 125 mm, 8 x 5 inches, pages: vi, 1-390, including half-title; vii, 1-198, including half-title, followed by 8 pages of adverts, rebound in modern half calf, gilt lettered green labels and gilt rules to spines, marbled boards, brown endpapers. Occasional pale foxing and pale signs of handling to margins, otherwise very good copies. Priced as a rebound copy. FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST FULL-LENGTH EXPOSITION OF AN EVOLUTIONARY THEORY IN ENGLISH. "This outspoken statement of a belief in evolution, published anonymously to protect Chambers's reputation as a publisher, anticipated Darwin's Origin by 16 years and generally prepared the public for the latter", Garrison and Morton, A Medical Bibliography, page 40 No. 218; Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Volume 3, page 192: "Chambers then devoted about a quarter of the volume to geology and paleontology, considering each era or formation in turn. This is probably the strongest section of the book, geology being the one area of science in which he had any first hand experience"; A Catalogue of Printed Books in the Wellcome Medical Library, Volume 2, page 323; The Haskell F. Norman Library of Science and Medicine, Volume 1, page 155-156, No. 438. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE, FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.