[Photobook] The expression of the emotions in man and animals [Jonathan Miller's copy] de DARWIN, Charles (1809-1882) - 1872

London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1872. First Edition. Original Cloth. Near Fine+. Second Issue ('that' misprinted as "htat," l. 1, p. 208) of this "important member of the evolutionary set" (Freeman) and one of the first mass-market books to contain photographs. 8vo (118 x 189mm): vi,374,4(publisher's catalog dated November, 1872)pp, with 7 heliotype plates (three folding) numbered with Arabic numerals, reproducing 30 photographs by Duchenne de Boulogne, O. J. Rejlander, Kindermann, and Dr. Wallich, and 21 wood engravings in the text. Publisher's standard green cloth, spine stamped in gilt, covers paneled in blind, black coated end papers. Signature to head of title page of Jonathan Miller (now Sir Jonathan Miller), English polymath and star of Beyond the Fringe, who wrote, among many books, Darwin for Beginners. Binding skillfully rebacked with original end papers preserved, minor bubbling to cloth (as often), very occasional light foxing, but generally excellent condition throughout, a bright, complete copy with interesting provenance. Freeman 1141. Imagining Paradise, p. 86. Truthful Lens 43. Written by Darwin on the heels of The Descent of Man, "in part at least, as a confutation of the idea that the facial muscles of expression in man were a special endowment." (Freeman) "With this book Darwin founded the study of ethology (animal behavior) and conveyance of information (communication theory) and made a major contribution to psychology" (Dictionary of Scientific Biography). Not incidentally, it was the "first highly successful use of the collotype [photographic] process of Ernest Edwards. Editions in French and English were issued, as well as an American edition, . . . [but] the London edition [ours] has the most successful reproductions." (Truthful Lens) Six of the 30 photographs originally appeared in Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine, a pioneering study of the effects on the skin of muscle contraction induced by electrical shock. Darwin's publisher warned that including photographs "would poke a terrible hole in the profits." N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).