A first edition of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” book sold for about $60,000 Thursday, an auctioneer in London said.
The work, still in its original embossed green binding, was bought by local book dealer Hamish Riley-Smith, said Keys auctioneer Andrew Bullock.
Written for a lay audience, “The Origin of Species” outlined Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which in turn provided the foundation for the modern understanding of evolution.
Keys, a Norwich-based auction house, said the book was one of 1,250 copies first printed in 1859.
This is a bumper year for Darwin fans, who are celebrating the 200th anniversary of the scientific luminary’s birth. Celebrations earlier this year included a landmark exhibition at London’s Natural History Museum, prayers at Darwin’s tomb in Westminster Abbey, and a host of parties, lectures, and exhibits around the world.
The elderly man claimed he needed the oranges in his suitcase to keep up his vitamin C level, but Italian police soon realized the “C” stood for cocaine.
Customs officers in Rome on Thursday arrested a 76-year-old Dutch man who tried to smuggle in more than 13 pounds of cocaine packed into oranges that had been emptied of their pulp.
Associated Press
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