Studies Scientific & Social.: In Two Volumes. With Numerous Illustrations.

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited,, 1900. First edition, first impression, of these varied volumes of articles, originally published in journals and periodicals between 1865 and 1899, here presented with revisions and expanded illustrations. Written by the co-discoverer of the theory of natural selection, the papers deal with numerous topics including evolution, geology, education, and politics. Wallace (1823-1913) is best known for his scientific theories that provided the catalyst for Darwin's On the Origin of Species; his writings on natural history are well represented in the first volume of this work, ranging from descriptive zoology to inherited characteristics. The second volume contains essays related to his social and political beliefs. Wallace was a passionate activist who was critical of what he viewed as an unjust social and economic system in 19th-century Britain: "Wallace was not prepared to see the reality of human suffering explained away by biology... he suggested that once the appropriate social reforms had been carried out, a process of 'human selection' would commence which would make the biological improvement of mankind inevitable" (Durant, p. 49). Articles expounding these beliefs are included in this work, such as "Human Selection" and "Human Progress: Past and Future". Two volumes, octavo. Original green cloth, spines and front covers lettered and ruled in gilt, roundel with title and author's initials blocked to front covers in gilt, rear covers ruled in blind. Folding plate, numerous halftone photographs, illustrations, and charts within text, 3 errata slips. 2 pp. advertisements for works by the author at rear. A little wear to extremities, slight rubbing to joints, contents lightly foxed, occasional pencil annotations: a very good copy. John R. Durant, "Scientific Naturalism and Social Reform in the Thought of Alfred Russel Wallace", The British Journal for the History of Science, vol. 12, no. 40, 1979.