THE STRUCTURE AND DISTRIBUTION OF CORAL REEFS
by Darwin, Charles
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Good
- Seller
-
Covina, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1889. Hardcover. Good. Third edition, with an appendix by Prof. T.G. Bonney, D.Sc., F.R.S., F.G.S. 344 p. with three folding plates and the publisher's ads. Octavo. Original brown cloth binding, with decorative gilt and black stamping. An ex-library copy with minimal markings: a bookplate to the front pastedown and a small numeric label to the spine. Minor creases to the folding plates. The top edge is a trifle dust stained, with some mild foxing to the fore-edge. There is also a small bit of rubbing to the corners and tips. From the library of the esteemed American paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002). In his essay "Worm for a Century" from the collection Hen's Teeth and Horse's Teeth: Further Reflections in Natural History (1983), Gould argued that this, Darwin's first book on a specific subject, is essential to understanding his theoretical approach: "This book is about coral, but it is also about historical reasoning. Vegetable mold formed fast enough to measure its rate directly; we capture the past by summing effects of small and observable present causes. But what if rates are too slow, or scales too large, to render history by direct observation of present processes? For such cases, we must develop a different method. Since large-scale processes begin at different times and proceed at diverse rates, the varied stages of different examples should exist simultaneously in the present. To establish history in such cases, we must construct a theory that will explain a series of present phenomena as stages of a single historical process. The method is quite general. Darwin used it to explain the formation of coral reefs. We invoke it today to infer the history of stars.
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Details
- Seller
- Johnson Rare Books & Archives (US)
- Seller's Inventory #
- 69842
- Title
- THE STRUCTURE AND DISTRIBUTION OF CORAL REEFS
- Author
- Darwin, Charles
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- D. Appleton and Company
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1889
- Keywords
- Natural History, Charles Darwin, Coral Reefs, Oceanography, Evolution, Science, Stephen Jay Gould, Paleontology
- Bookseller catalogs
- Natural History;
Terms of Sale
Johnson Rare Books & Archives
As proud members of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, we uphold our association's code of ethics. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, all items are returnable within ten days of delivery. Materials must be returned in the same condition as sent. If you have any questions or concerns, simply call us to discuss.
About the Seller
Johnson Rare Books & Archives
Biblio member since 2008
Covina, California
About Johnson Rare Books & Archives
Established in 1981, johnson rare books & archives is located in the heart of downtown Covina, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles. Our shop is currently open by appointment Thursday - Saturday from 11am - 6pm (please call ahead) and houses an inventory of some 30,000 titles, ranging from the general second-hand to the truly antiquarian. For more information, visit our website at www.johnsonrarebooks.com or call 1-626-967-1888.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...