Reliquiæ diluvianæ; or Oberstavations on the organic remains contained in caves, fissures, and diluvial gravel, and on other geological phenomena, attesting the action of an universal deluge

By William Buckland ; London, 1823

Donated by John Toutonghi

On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing

By Charles Darwin ; London, 1862

Donated by John Toutonghi

On the various contrivances by which British and foriegn orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing

By Charles Darwin ; London, 1862

Donated by John Toutonghi

The Melville Harrison Hatch Collection of Darwin 

Donated by Seattle University Professor Emeritus John Toutonghi in honor of his family, this collection of 129 items includes books on science, evolution and ethics by and about Charles Darwin. Notable titles include early editions of the Origin of Species and the Voyage of the Beagle.

A selection of books in the collection:

·         Zoonomia; or, the laws of organic life

By Erasmus Darwin ; Dublin, 1794

Call Number: QP29 .D22 1794

Annotation:  Authored by Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of naturalist Charles Darwin, this work focuses on the theory and classification of diseases. It contains information brought forward in Charles Darwin’s broader work Theory of Evolution.  Erasmus Darwin was a physician, inventor, natural historian, and poet.

·         Memoirs of the life of Dr. Darwin: chiefly during his residence in Lichfield, with anecdotes of his friends, and criticisms on his writings

By Anna Seward ; London, 1804

Call Number: QH31 .D3 S5 1804

Annotation:  Anna Seward published this book after Eramus Darwin’s death in 1802. In it she describes aspects of his professional life and medical practice.  As a person, friend, writer and poet she relates glimpses of Darwin’s life in Lichfield, England.    Anna Seward was referred to as the “Swan of Lichfield.”

·         Reliquiæ diluvianæ; or Observations on the organic remains contained in caves, fissures, and diluvial gravel, and on other geological phenomena, attesting the action of an universal deluge

By William Buckland ; London, 1823

Call Number: Q111 .H3 1823

Annotation:  This book contains fine engravings of fossils.   Author William Buckland was a believer of Bishop Ussher’s chronology and age  of the Earth and  he also was an initial  proponent of “diluvialism”, the theory that geological phenomena, such as sedimentation and fossilization, were caused by the Biblical Noah’s Flood.  Buckland later abandoned the diluvialism theory, and developed an English school of historical geology.

·         Principles of geology or the modern changes of the earth and its inhabitants considered as illustrative of geology

By Sir Charles Lyell ; New York, 1856

Call Number: QE26 .L96 1856 

Annotation:  Lyell’s work, first published in 1830, was a pioneering achievement in the science of geology. Abandoning William Buckland’s theory that geological change was the result of short-term catastrophes such Noah’s Flood in the Bible, Sir Lyell established the doctrine of uniformitarianism, which states that geological changes occur evenly over immense timespans. Charles Darwin was significantly influenced by Lyell’s work.

·         Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the world, under the command of Capt. Fitz Roy

By Charles Darwin ; London, 1860

Call Number:  QH11 .D27 1860

Annotation:  In 1831, the 22 year-old Charles Darwin was selected as ship’s naturalist aboard the British survey vessel H.M.S. Beagle. During its five year voyage around South America and the Pacific, Darwin recorded his observations of the local environment, geology, flora and fauna. Returning to England in 1836, he used the accumulated data to write this book, Journal of Researches, first published in 1839.

·         On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or, the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life

By Charles Darwin ; New York, 1869

Call Number:  QH365 .O2 1869B 

Annotation:  First published in 1859, Charles Darwin’s revolutionary theory of evolution, Origin of Species is a classic in the history of Western science. The Origin of Species was based on Darwin’s journals and data gathered during his voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle, with two decades of continuous research.  The Origin of Species was published in 6 editions in Darwin’s lifetime and translated into multiple languages.

·         On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing

By Charles Darwin ; London, 1862

Call Number:  QK926 .D24 1862

Annotation:  Darwin authored other works on the physiology and reproductive activity of plants. In the preface to this work, Darwin states that one of its purposes is to support an assertion he made in origin of species, namely, that “organic beings require an occasional cross with another individual”. He also asserts here that “the study of organic beings may be as interesting to an observer who is fully convinced that the structure of each is due to secondary laws, as to one who views every trifling detail of structure as the result of the direct interposition of the Creator”.

·         Geological observations on the volcanic islands and parts of South America visited during the voyage of H.M.S. ‘Beagle.'

By Charles Darwin ; London, 1876

Call Number:  QE3 .D23 1876

Annotation: This work contains many fine illustrations of shells and reflects Charles Darwin’s interest in the marine world beyond the dry land flora and fauna.

Additional selection of books in the collection including works from Darwin’s contemporaries:

·         Elements of Geography

By Sir Charles Lyell 

Call Number:  QE26 .L937 1865

·         Vestiges of the natural history of creation

By Robert Chambers 

Call Number:  QH363 .C4 1846

·         Footprints of the Creator

By Hugh Miller

Call Number:  QH363 .M64 1869

·         Darwin and his flowers: the key to natural selection

By Mea Allen

Call Number:  QH31 .D2 A78 1977

·         Evolution in action

By Julian Huxley

Call Number:  QH367 .H97 1953

·         Genesis and geology, a study in the relations of scientific thought, natural theology, and social opinion in Great Britain, 1790-1850

By Charles Coulston Gillispie

Call Number:  BS657 .G55 1951