|
An exhibit entitled "Charles Darwin: An Exhibition Chiefly from the C. Warren Irvin Jr. Collection to Mark the First A.C. Moore Lecture in Evolutionary Biology" opened at USC's Thomas Cooper Library April 10 and will run through June 30.
 |
|
Illustration from The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, pt. IV, Mammalia, published in London in 1839.
|
Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species (1859) is widely recognized as "the most important biological book ever written."
This exhibition from the library's C. Warren Irvin Jr. Collection of Charles Darwin & Darwiniana celebrates a new series of annual lectures at USC, the A.C. Moore Lectures in Evolutionary Biology and Society. The series is named for Andrew Charles Moore (1866-1928) who was a professor of biology, the department's first chair, and was twice the interim president of the University.
The exhibit sets out both to chart Darwin's career and to illustrate his achievements and influence. The display is particularly strong in documenting both Darwin's epoch-making voyage as a naturalist aboard the naval ship H.M.S. Beagle and the many new species that he brought back for scientific study.
The books on display, which include all the major Darwin first editions, including On the Origin of Species, are chiefly drawn from the Irvin Collection, which was donated to the University by Dr. and Mrs. Irvin in 1995. The Irvin Collection includes both Darwin's own publications and books that influenced or were influenced by him, as well as modern books about his work. The exhibit also draws extensively on the South Carolina College library, especially its journal-runs, to show Darwin's earlier scientific contributions and to set a context for Darwin's own work.
 |
| Illustration from The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, pt. III, Birds published in London in 1841. |
Since the original donation, a significant number of items have been added to the Irvin collection through the endowment that the Irvins established. Such items are identified in the exhibit labels.
Among notable additions on display are:
- Copies of important books that Darwin read as a student in Edinburgh and Cambridge
- Darwin's very first appearance in print as a scientist, on entomology
- Darwin's three books on geological topics, acquired in 2002 shortly before Dr. Irvin died
- an 1860 autographed letter from Darwin about the reaction to his On the Origin of Species, purchased with a donation from James P. Barrow, '62, through the Treasures Acquisition Program
- Original Vanity Fair cartoons of Darwin and Huxley.
Also included in the display is an engraved portrait of Darwin that previously belonged to Professor A. C. Moore, who had purchased it in Paris in 1910.
Though there have been several smaller Darwin-related exhibits at USC in recent years, and a Darwin Web exhibit continues to draw students and researchers, this is the first major exhibition from the Irvin Collection since the spring of 1999, and the first to showcase many recent additions.
For information about the C. Warren Irvin Jr. Collection and other library collections in natural history and the history of science, go to www.sc.edu/library/spcoll/rarebook.html or contact tclrarebooks@gwm.sc.edu.
4/07
|
