Auctions | August 26, 2023

1859 First Edition of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species to Lead Ripley Rare Books Auctions

Courtesy Ripley Rare Books

The index and publisher’s advertisements preserved at the end of Ripley Auctions’ first edition of On the Origin of Species.

Two-part September 23 event will also feature Matisse, Milne, Vonnegut and Cather; rare-book consignments accepted through September 9

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — August 25, 2026 — Ripley Auctions & Appraisals will present two rare and collectible book auctions on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, led by an 1859 first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Discovered in a private Indiana estate and estimated at $100,000 - $150,000, the Darwin volume will headline the Great Estates BOOKS Live! auction beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT. A companion timed auction of collectible books is currently scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. EDT.

Published in London by John Murray on November 24, 1859, On the Origin of Species presented Darwin’s case for evolution by natural selection to a broad reading public and changed the course of scientific and intellectual history. The first edition comprised 1,250 copies, all of which were taken up on the day of publication.

Ripley’s copy is bound in the publisher’s green cloth with blind-stamped covers and a gilt-lettered spine, and bears the Edmonds & Remnants binder’s ticket. It retains the folding lithographic diagram facing page 117 and publisher’s advertisements at the end. The copy also contains the well-known first-edition misprint on page 20, line 11, where “species” appears as “speceies.”

Courtesy of Ripley Auctions & Appraisals.

An 1859 first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, in the publisher’s green cloth binding. The volume is estimated at $100,000-$150,000.

Courtesy of Ripley Auctions & Appraisals.

The folding lithographic diagram facing page 117 in the 1859 first edition of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.

“For a book published in 1859, this copy presents very well,” said Charlie Deane, Director of Collectibles at Ripley Auctions. “Its original green cloth binding, folding diagram and identifiable first-edition points are precisely the kinds of details collectors look for when evaluating a copy of Origin.”

Additional auction highlights include a 1935 Limited Editions Club publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses, No. 851 of 1,500 copies. The volume features six soft-ground etchings and reproductions of preparatory sketches by Henri Matisse and is signed by Matisse on the limitation page (estimate $3,000-$5,000).

Children’s literature highlights include two signed limited editions by A.A. Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard: a first American limited edition of The House at Pooh Corner, published in New York by E.P. Dutton in 1928 and one of 250 large-paper copies signed by both Milne and Shepard (estimate $3,000-$5,000); and a signed limited first edition of The Christopher Robin Story Book, published by E.P. Dutton in 1929 and numbered 118 of 350 copies (estimate $1,500-$2,200).

Other highlights include a first edition, first printing of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Slaughterhouse-Five in the first-state dust jacket with the correct ‘0369’ code (estimate $800-$1,200), and a signed limited first edition of Willa Cather’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel One of Ours, No. 213 of 345 copies (estimate $600-$1,000).

Ripley Auctions is accepting additional consignments through September 9 for consideration in either the live or companion timed auction. The auction house is especially seeking important first editions, signed or association copies with notable provenance, and significant manuscripts and landmark scientific, literary or historical works.

The Great Estates BOOKS Live! auction will begin September 23 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Bidders may participate live in Indianapolis, by telephone, by absentee bid or online. The companion timed collectible-book auction is currently scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EDT. Consignment inquiries may be submitted through Ripley’s auction evaluation form.

View the live auction preview here. Submit books for auction consideration here.

About Ripley Auctions

Established in 1991, Ripley Auctions & Appraisals is a third-generation, family-run auction house based in Indianapolis. Led by owner Dan Ripley, the company provides auction and appraisal services for estates, collectors, heirs, executors and commercial clients, specializing in fine art, antiques, jewelry, collectibles, memorabilia and significant private collections. Ripley Auctions serves consignors locally, nationally and internationally through professionally managed live and online auctions. To learn more, visit RipleyAuctions.com.

For interview requests or additional information, contact Julie Perry at 317-332-1075 or juliep@ripleyauctions.com. A media kit with approved images is available here.