Memoir on the Gorilla, a presentation copy - photo 1

Memoir on the Gorilla, a presentation copy

Lot 68
27.01.2023 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 9 450
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 887841
Lot 68 | Memoir on the Gorilla, a presentation copy
Estimate value
$ 6 000 – 9 000
OWEN, Richard. Memoir on the Gorilla (Troglodytes Gorilla, Savage). London: Taylor and Francis, 1865.

First edition of Owen’s famous monograph on the gorilla, a presentation copy: inscribed by Owen "To P. B. Du Chaillu from his friend the author" on the front free endpaper, with two letters from Du Chaillu loosely inserted. Paul Belloni Du Chaillu (1831-1903) had been sent by the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences in 1855 to explore West Africa. Between 1856 and 1859 he observed gorillas in the wild; previously they were only known to European scientists from skeletons of dubious authenticity. Owen’s monograph resulted from the recent capture of a living gorilla. This was central to the debate between Owen and Thomas Huxley and Charles Darwin as to the relationship between great apes and humans, Owen being a vehement opponent of the theory of evolution. The irony is that Owen’s detailed and precise investigations of gorilla anatomy provided crucial evidence for the evolutionary connection between man and the apes.

This copy, which formerly belonged to Darwin’s great-grandson Quentin Keynes (1921-2003), has two letters from Du Chaillu loosely inserted. The first is to Owen, dated 13 February 1860. The three-page letter discusses a French edition of Du Chaillu’s account of his travels, and the preparation of a frontispiece depicting the gorilla. Du Chaillu also discusses Owen’s monograph on the osteology of the gorilla. The second letter, dated 22 October 22 1861, is addressed to the publisher Murray. Du Chaillu writes that "I forward to your care to-day, the box containing the Gorilla, and package containing my maps and drawings. Be kind enough to forward immediately to Prof. Owen the drawing belonging to him of the skeleton of man with that of the Gorilla." The fine frontispiece and the other colored plate were drawn by Joseph Wolf. The other plates are by G. H. Ford and F. Robinson. Portions of this work were also published in the Transactions of the Zoological Society. Nissen ZBI 3037

Quarto (314 x 243 mm). 13 lithograph plates, including two hand-colored and one folding (some very slight toning). Original cloth lettered in gilt (extremities worn). Provenance: Paul Belloni Du Chaillu, 1831-1903, French-American traveler, zoologist, and anthropologist (authorial inscription, two letters laid in) – Quentin Keynes, 1921-2003 naturalist, explorer, and book-collector, son of Geoffrey Keynes, nephew of the economist John Maynard Keynes, and great-grandson of Charles Darwin (Sotheby's, 14 July 2015, lot 51).
Place of origin:United Kingdom
Auction house category:Books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
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13.01.2023 – 27.01.2023
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
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