Darwin - Botany - 1867

FIRST EDITION - THE DARWIN PAPER THAT REVEALS HOW CLIMBING PLANTS MOVE
A volume of the Linnean Society that preserves one of the first major botanical inquiries by Charles Darwin.
The naturalist tracks the movements of climbing plants and observes how they coil, cling, and seek support. His observations connect the form of plants to their diverse growth strategies.
Alongside Darwin’s essay, the volume gathers studies on fungi, algae, flowers, germination, and plant species from various parts of the world. An important testament to Victorian botanical research, enriched by figures and scientific plates.

ABSTRACT
The ninth volume of the Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany, brings together contributions presented to the London scientific society. The most famous text is “On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants” by Charles Darwin, which occupies pages 1–118. The volume also includes studies by Thomas Anderson, George Bentham, John Henslow, and other botanists, with observations on Asian plants, Mexican fungi, algae, and germination processes. Overall, a repertoire of specialized research that documents the breadth of the Linnean Society’s botanical interests.

WHY TO BUY
The main attraction is the presence of Darwin’s essay on climbing plants, a foundational work in his botanical production and one of the earliest systematic investigations of plant movement. The collection also maintains autonomous interest in the diversity of contributions: it includes research on Indian, Mexican, and African species, new botanical descriptions, and studies of plant physiology. The illustrations in the text and the plates make the volume appealing both to the Darwin collector and to those interested in the history of botany and nineteenth-century scientific publications.

MARKET VALUE
Indicative estimate for this specimen: €1,200–1,800. The copy described here preserves a decorative binding and the full text visible in the photographs, but wear to the spine and stains on the pages advise placing it in the more cautious range.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Dark morocco spine with marbled boards, raised bands and a gold-tooled spine, signs of wear. The pages show some browning and physiological foxing. A blind stamp is visible on the frontispiece. In old books with a centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing includes AI Viewings. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. V, [1], 530, with 12 plates beyond text and in-text illustrations.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Botany. Vol. IX.
London, Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, and Williams and Norgate, 1867.
Charles Robert Darwin.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Linnean Society, founded in London in 1788 and named after Carl von Linné, was one of the main European centers for the study and classification of natural history. Its periodicals published communications presented by members, providing a forum for botanical and zoological research. In his contribution, Darwin describes how climbing plants move and support themselves: he observes the different modes of coiling, the action of tendrils, and the plants’ responses to contact. The essay arises from experimental and comparative observations, fitting into Darwin’s broader interest in plant movement, growth, and adaptation. The article had already appeared in 1865; the bound volume presented here bears the date 1867 on the frontispiece. The collection pairs Darwin with studies of very different scope: Thomas Anderson discusses, among other topics, Indian Acanthaceae; M. J. Berkeley describes fungi of Mexico; George Dickie deals with germination, algae, and plant anomalies; George Henslow analyzes the structure of the flowers of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Indigofera. The index thus reveals a botany that blends classification, field observation, and study of biological processes.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Charles Robert Darwin (Shrewsbury, 1809 – Downe, 1882) was an English naturalist and biologist. After the voyage of the Beagle (1831–1836), he developed his investigations into variation among organisms and the origin of species. In 1859 he published On the Origin of Species, a work that transformed the scientific debate on evolution. In addition to his well-known works, he devoted numerous studies to botany: among other topics, he studied orchids, carnivorous plants, pollination, movement, and plant growth. The essay gathered here anticipates the standalone volume On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants, published in 1865.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The title page of the specimen bears the year 1867 and the names Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer; it also indicates sale at the Linnean Society premises at Burlington House. The collection belongs to the Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany section. The date on the frontispiece of the bound volume should be distinguished from that attributed to Darwin’s individualessay: Darwin catalogs record its publication in 1865, on pages 1–118 of Volume IX.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Darwin’s text was subsequently taken up and expanded in the standalone 1865 edition, published in London by Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green and Williams and Norgate. Darwin returned to the subject with a second revised edition in 1875. The presence of the essay within the periodical allows one to appreciate its first circulation within the context of the Linnean Society’s scientific communications, alongside the research of his contemporaries.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Charles Darwin, “On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants”, Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany, vol. IX, pp. 1–118; Darwin Online, bibliography and text of the essay, reference F1733.
The Journal of the Linnean Society. Botany, vol. IX, London, Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, 1867; digitized copy available at the Biodiversity Heritage Library.