Rare Darwin book found in washroom
To be auctioned on the 150th anniversary of its publication
Last Updated: Sunday, November 22, 2009 | 2:53 PM ET
CBC News
British scientist Charles Darwin is shown here in an undated photo. A copy of his 1859 On the Origin of Species, found in a washroom in Oxford, England, will be auctioned on Tuesday. (Associated Press file photo)A first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species will go on the block at Christie's London auction house on Tuesday, the 150th anniversary of its publication.
The book was found on a shelf in the guest washroom of a home in Oxford, England, the Oxford Mail reported. It was purchased at a used book store about 40 years ago for less than $1 Cdn.
A Christie's representative said on Sunday that the book was one of about 1,250 copies first printed in 1859, and will probably sell at auction for about $106,000 Cdn.
On the Origin of Species outlines Darwin's theory of natural selection, which formed the basis for the British scientist's theory of evolution.
With files from The Associated PressShare Tools
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