A first-edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species has sold at auction in London for nearly $60,000, according to British auction House Keys.

A local book dealer named Hamish Riley-Smith purchased the rare tome, still bound in its original embossed green binding, for £35,000 ($59,364 Cdn), according to Keys auctioneer Andrew Bullock.

The book is one of the original 1,250 copies from the famed book's first, sold-out printing in 1859.

The 150th anniversary of the book's publication will be marked on Nov. 24.

Darwin wrote his seminal book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection to share his theory about evolution with a lay audience. His treatise would become the backbone of modern biology.

Also sold at Monday's Keys sale of rare books was an autographed photo of Darwin — dating from 1868 — that fetched £22,000 ($37,315 Cdn), soaring over its initial estimate of between £,3000 and £4,000 (between $5,088 and $6,785 Cdn).

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth, with celebrations that have included lectures, exhibits and a memorial at the scientist's tomb in Westminster Abbey.

Last year, a treasure trove of Darwin's papers — including his notes for and an original draft of On the Origin of Species — was published online by the Cambridge University Library, which houses his archive.

With files from The Associated Press