Földvári Books

First Hungarian Edition of On the Origin of Species

Darwin, Charles

[On The Origin of Species.] A fajok eredete a természeti kiválás útján vagyis az elönyös válfajok fenmaradása a létérti küzdelemben. Irta Charles Darwin. Az eredeti hatodik bövitett s javitott kiadása után fordította Dapsy László. Revideálta Margó Tivadar. I. [II.] kötet

Budapest: Kiadja a Természettudományi Társulat Könyvkiadó Vállalata, 1873. First Hungarian edition. In publisher’s green cloth, bound into two volumes, gilt-stamped spine titles, panels with blindstamped device. 2 v. XIV, [2], 303, [1] p. and 1 folding plate; VII, [1], 361, [3] p., and a plate with Darwins portrait, protected with tissue paper. Contemporary ownership signature on half-titleOccasional light foxing throughout in both volumes. Overall in fine condition.

First Hungarian edition of Darwin’s opus magnum, the On the Origin of Species (1859), the foundation of evolutionary biology.

A fajok eredete was Darwin’s first book to be translated into Hungarian. The translator László Dapsy (1843–1890) was a gymnasium teacher in Budapest, who studied at the New College in The University of Edinburgh. While in Scotland Dapsy was introduced to Darwin’s scientific theories, and back in Hungary, he became a pioneer advocate of Darwinism.

As a member of the Hungarian Society of Natural Sciences Dapsy urged the publication of Darwin’s works in Hungarian and translated the present book, On the Origin of Species. While working on the text, he was in correspondence with Darwin who, besides authorized the publication, provided the photograph after which the portrait, illustrating this edition, has been made.

The translation was revised by another progressive Hungarian scientist and early Darwinist Tivadar Margó (1816–1896), who was the author of the first Hungarian zoological book based on Darwin’s theories, and the first biography of Darwin written in Hungarian. Margó held the memorial lecture after Darwin’s death at the Hungarian Academy of Science of which Darwin was an honorary fellow since as early as 1872, wherein he recollected the memories about his personal encounter with Darwin in 1875.

Provenance: Ownership stamp of Dr. János Garán (1847?–1911), country doctor in Székelyhíd (today: Săcueni, Romania).

Scarce, WorldCat locates seven complete copies, worldwide, of which only two are held in the US (Huntington; NLM)

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Price: €6,000.00