October 1, 2009 - March 27, 2010

Charles Darwin was not the first naturalist to wonder where species came from, and how species are related to each other. Earlier students of nature, looking for “the order of things,” called their books “The History of Animals,” “The Botanic Garden,” “The Animal Kingdom,” “The Temple of Flora,” “Zoological Philosophy,” and “The System of Nature”.

Although the importance of these books lies in their attempts to identify and classify living things, many have the added attraction of being quite beautiful, with exquisite and often hand-colored images of animals, plants, and fossils.

In celebration of the Darwin anniversaries, the Linda Hall Library will display fifty of the most significant and the most visually impressive of these books, culminating with a first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.