Beschreibung:

'Notes for the use of Mr. James Marchant as to his proposed book on the Life-Work of Darwin and Wallace', being the complete and unpublished autograph manuscript by Wallace giving Marchant his proposed structure and outline of the contents for the book, circa March 1913, written neatly in black ink in Wallace's hand on the rectos of seven leaves of laid paper, the first page giving short title and authors' names, the second page inscribed 'Notes for the use of Mr. James Marchant as to his proposed Book on the Life-Work of Darwin and Wallace, by A.R.W.', the following five numbered pages giving the full title, 'Darwin and Wallace: A Study of their Literary and Scientific Writings with an Estimate of the Present Position of the Theory of Natural Selection as an adequate explanation of the Process of Organic Evolution', and Suggested Contents under eight chapter headings, 'Chapter I. A sketch of the mores salient conditions and events which led them, independently, to the idea of Natural Selection - (travel - Malthus - geographical distribution &c. &c.)', 'Chapter II. The diversities and similarities in their respective environments - social and educational - the diversities being much the more important. Environment was therefore not the determining factor in their coincident Life-Work.', 'Chapter III. Direct Heredity also unlike - Similarity of intellectual character must therefore have been due to chance intermingling of somewhat remote ancestral traits, leading to an almost identical result in their scientific discovery', Chapter IV to compare their literary work, Chapter V to be about Darwin's scientific work starting with the 'Origin of Species', ' and 'all the other works being extensions and applications of the theory, founded mainly on his own observation and experiment - personal experiment the preponderating factor', Chapter VI to be about the scientific works of Wallace, ' their chief characteristic being that they are the results of reasoning on the observations and experiments of other writers', Chapter VII to be 'General conclusions as to the character and life-work of the co-discovers of Natural Selection', and the final Chapter VIII to be about as Natural Selection stands today and who its chief upholders are in Europe and America, how other theories such as 'Mutationism and Mendelianism [are] totally inadequate', but also saying that 'Natural Selection does not claim to account for the first causes of life - or for the fundamental forces and powers of Growth and Reproduction', paper somewhat toned and with a few minor splits and tiny chips not affecting text, sheet sizes 19.5 x 16.5cm, together with a John Murray printed announcement card for the planned publication of the book in Spring 1915, giving the title as Wallace proposed above, and the authors as 'James Marchant, Assisted by Alfred Russel Wallace, O.M.', 9 x 11.5cm A unique manuscript by the co-discoverer of the theory of evolution by natural selection, written in the year he died, and for a book that was never published. In these seven pages Wallace gives a succinct and lucid sketch for the genealogy of the theory of natural selection and a comparison of the lives and ideas of its two authors. The subjects of chapters 2 and 3 are of particular interest, Wallace noting how both Darwin and himself, with such different backgrounds, came to have almost identical ideas. Wallace significantly concludes that environment was therefore not the factor in their 'coincident life-work', and by suggesting that it 'may have been due to chance intermingling of somewhat remote ancestral traits', applied ideas of heredity and natural selection to their own scientifically-minded brains. James Marchant must have hoped to continue with the publication of the book in spite of Wallace's death as is shown by the John Murray announcement card. Subsequently, Marchant did publish the two-volume work, 'Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters and Reminiscences' (Cassell, 1916), and in the