[DARWIN, Charles]. Pye-Smith, P.H. A review of  The Descent of Man, and Selection in relation to Sex in two issues of Nature, a Weekly Illustrated Journal of Science. Two issues: vol. 3 #75, April 6, 1871, pp 441-460 and vol 3 #76, April 13, 1871, pp 461-480 in the weekly issue.  Both very nice copies with expertly repaired (with minimal invasion and maximum blendedness) spines. Offered in their original wrappers. Housed in a new and fine folding (and gilt-embossed gas).  $250 

Charles Darwin’s  great classic The Descent of Man, and Selection in relation to Sex was published by John Murray (in two volumes) on 24 February 1871, and Prof /Dr Philip Henry  Pye-Smith (1839-1914) was quickly on board to review it six weeks after publication for Nature magazine in two issues for April 6 and the following issue for April 13, 1871.  pp 442-4 and pp 463-5, respectively. It is noted in the Darwin Online site that Darwin’s use of the word “evolution” first appears in the first page of the first volume of this work (note following) and Pye-Smith’s very favorable and highly complimentary review uses the word (“Evolution”) in the first paragraph, and is so far as I can tell the second appearance of the word in the great journal Nature (of 45,000 more that would follow over the years). His review of the Darwin work is among the earliest, as is his own use of the word “evolution”. (“Darwin wrote, in the preface to the second edition, of ‘the fiery ordeal through which this book has passed’. He had avoided the logical outcome of the general theory of evolution, bringing man into the scheme, for twelve years, and in fact it had, by that time, been so much accepted that the clamour of the opposition was not strident. He had also been preceded in 1863 by Huxley’s Man’s place in nature. The book, in its first edition, contains two parts, the descent of man itself, and selection in relation to sex. The word ‘evolution’ occurs, for the first time in any of Darwin’s works, on page 2 of the first volume of the first edition, that is to say before its appearance in the sixth edition of The origin of species in the following year.”)