8vo. In two volumes. viii, 411, [1], 32; viii, 486pp, [2]. Bound by Edmonds & Remnants (ticket to REP of Vol. II) in original publisher's green cloth, lettered in gilt. Lightly rubbed and marked, a little chipping to head and foot of spines. Hinges just starting, occasional light spotting, else a crisp set.

A crisp copy of the first edition, first issue (with 12 errata across both volumes, and the publisher's imprint featuring on a single line to the foot of each spine) of English naturalist Charles Darwin's (1809-1882) ground-breaking study of variation within plants and animals, caused by the modification of species by breeders and horticulturists.

The variation of animals and plants under domestication is notable for containing the first appearance of the term 'survival of the fittest' as a substitute for Darwin's more anthropomorphic 'natural selection'; and the first expression of his theory of Pangenesis, the inheritance of acquired characteristics.