CURRENT EXHIBITION
Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The Natural History of Charles Darwin
Exhibition Dates: 28 September-18 December 2009 (Library hours and location)
It is conventional to view the life and career of Charles Darwin as divided neatly into two parts: before and after the publication of Origin of Species, generally regarded as the most influential biological work ever written, and yet his life and his work were inseparable.
He was raised to be a conventional Victorian gentleman of means and continued to live in that mode, having, as he put it, had 'ample leisure from not having to earn my own bread'. What set him apart from his contemporaries in similar circumstances was what went on in his mind.
He was most certainly not a commonplace Victorian gentleman. Although he perhaps experienced his greatest sense of satisfaction by having proven the truth of his theories to most of the cogent minds of his time, his ideas had a profound and direct impact on every layer and aspect of society and quickly spread from Great Britain throughout the world. The implications of the theory of natural selection are as widely and fiercely debated today as they were in his own era.
This exhibition of books and manuscripts celebrates the accomplishments of Darwin’s rare and inquisitive mind. Besides the Fisher’s own collections, several items come from the private libraries of the curator, Richard Landon, and of Toronto financier, Garrett Herman. On display are the many editions and issues of Darwin’s books that illustrate the significant textual changes made by him as his ideas developed. Important works on evolution by Darwin's predecessors, works by his scientific colleagues and many of the books resulting from the controversies surrounding the publication of Origin of Species (1859) broaden the appeal of the exhibition.
Exhibition and catalogue by Richard Landon.
ISBN 978-0-7727-6069-2; 72 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7053
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