Description

A landmark work by the eminent geologist Sir Charles Lyell, expanding upon his geological theories in light of Darwin’s Origin of Species. This revised second edition includes additional material and an appendix addressing new discoveries relating to human antiquity and prehistoric remains. Illustrated throughout with woodcuts, it remains one of the cornerstone texts in nineteenth-century geological and evolutionary thought.

Condition report

Original dark green cloth with gilt spine lettering and gilt fossil motifs to the front board. The binding shows slight fraying to the cloth at the spine ends and a small one-centimetre nick to the upper spine edge. Minor wear and a short frayed section with a loose thread mid-spine, but overall the boards are bright and well preserved. Internally, the volume is sound with a firm binding. The tissue guard before the frontispiece is present but slightly detached at the upper edge. There is a contemporary ownership inscription on the fly-title page and another on the advertisement leaf. Some light spotting appears on the preliminaries and closing pages, but the main text block remains generally clean. Overall, a good to very good copy of the second edition, revised, presenting attractively and structurally sound.