London, MacMillan, 1886. 8vo (18.7 x 12.6 cm). Half-title, title page, dedication to Charles Darwin, xvi, 653, [ii] pp.; engraved frontispiece, seven engraved plates, two folded, tinted maps, and numerous steel-engravings in the text. Original green cloth. Spine with black bands, gilt title, and gilt vignette of a bird of paradise; front board with black blind-stamped border and gilt central vignette with an orangutan. Green endpapers.

An excellent copy, in a highly desirable state, of this classic work on the zoology, botany, and ethnography of the Malay Archipelago, or present-day Malaysia, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and, above all, Indonesia. It was during Alfred Russell Wallace's travels in this region that he came up with the theory of natural selection that made Charles Darwin and himself world famous. Provenance: inscribed in an old hand in the top margin of the title page, Carry J. Hart, and dated Apr. 1891. Very light shelf-wear, with minimal rubbing to board corners and spine ends. Otherwise, in near-perfect condition, the interior clean and fresh. Cat. BM(NH) p. 2256.