PALEY, William. Natural Theology: or, evidences of the existence and attributes of The Deity, collected from the appearances of nature. London: for R. Faulder by Wilks & Taylor, 1802.

First edition. Darwin greatly admired and was influenced by Paley’s work on intelligent design, particularly as a student; his On the Origin of Species grapples with similar issues (e.g. explaining the adaptations of organisms). It is one of the rarer 19th-century books listed in Printing and the Mind of Man (RBH records no copy at auction since 1994; PMM 245b). The American edition published the same year is much more common. A very good copy in contemporary tree calf (re-backed, front free endpaper renewed, some spotting in the first and last gatherings). Provenance: Dudley Ryder, 1st earl of Harrowby (1762-1847; bookplate) – David Arthur Pailin (b. 1936; bookplate).