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darwins-library
A trove of books from Charles Darwin’s personal library is now digitized, online and free for all to view. The collection, displaying Darwin’s scrawled-in-pencil marginalia, tantalizingly reveals his thought process as he developed the theory of evolution.
While many of his papers and notebooks are already online, Darwin didn't keep a notebook for several months after returning from his 5-year-long voyage aboard the HMS Beagle. Instead, Darwin — then just 27 years old, with his theory of evolution half-formulated — made notes in the margins of books he read.
The notes in these books represent another kind of voyage. Darwin develops arguments and considers challenges to his hypotheses. “This fills a gap in his notebook writings, and gives us a new lens to look at Darwin,” said David Kohn, director of the American Museum of Natural History's Darwin Manuscripts Project. "His thoughts are very frank, very fresh.”
Above: Darwin's Library at Home
View of Darwin’s Library on the shelves of Down House, circa 1876. Image: Cambridge University Library.See Also:
