Morton & Eden will offer an extraordinary set of important medals awarded to one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century - Alfred Russel Wallace, a co-founder of and collaborator with Charles Darwin on the theory of evolution. Here's the press release.
-Editor
Alfred Russel Wallace OM, FRS (1823-1913), was one of the greatest scientists and
evolutionary thinkers of the modern era. Together with his contemporary Charles Darwin,
Wallace is acknowledged as the co-founder of the theory of natural selection, more
commonly termed today as evolution.
In recognition of his many scientific achievements, Wallace received a number of prestigious
medals and awards during his lifetime including the important Darwin-Wallace medal in
gold awarded by the Linnean Society of London (est: £10,000-15,000) and the Order of
Merit (est: £12,000-£15,000).
These along with others from Wallace's collection are to be offered at auction in London by
Morton & Eden on 20 July. The group of 9 significant medals will be sold individually with an
overall collective estimate in excess of £52,000.
Sir David Attenborough first encountered Wallace's thrilling and indeed inspiring travel
books when he was a young boy. In Sir David Attenborough's opinion; For me there is no
more admirable character in the history of science . A naturalist, geographer, an intrepid
explorer, anthropologist, biologist, ornithologist, spiritualist, writer, poet and illustrator,
Wallace was also, like Sir David Attenborough, acutely aware of the potentially dangerous
environmental impact of human activity on our planet. Aside from many shared passions,
Sir David Attenborough, like Wallace, was also awarded the Order of Merit in addition to
being a Fellow of the Royal Society plus other shared learned societies.
James Morton, Director of Auctioneer's Morton & Eden, said: It is a huge honour to offer
these medals at auction. Medals of such historic significance are extremely rare and they bear testament to Wallace's enormous contribution to the revolutionary scientific
discoveries of the 19th century which remain hugely relevant today.
Wallace formed his theory of natural selection and the origin of species at the same time as
Charles Darwin was independently developing his own research into what has since become
more generally termed ‘evolution'.
When Wallace sent Darwin a draft of his paper ‘On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart
Indefinitely From the Original Type' early in 1858, Darwin wrote despairingly all my
originality, whatever it may amount to, will be smashed , so similar was Wallace's line of
thought to Darwin's own.
What then transpired, however, was that the two theories were presented together,
Wallace's paper, together with extracts from Darwin's unpublished work, at the historic
meeting of the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858.
What could have developed into a fierce professional rivalry in fact became, particularly on
Wallace's part, a relationship based on mutual respect and deference. Their relationship
was described by the President of the Linnean Society Dr D H Scott in 1908 as a generous
rivalry in which each discoverer strives to exalt the claims of the other... .
In fact After Wallace's death in 1913 a portrait plaque by Albert Bruce-Joy was erected in
Westminster Abbey in 1915, next to the existing memorial to Darwin, who had died in 1882.
One hundred years later in 2013, to mark the Centenary of Wallace's death, a bronze
sculpture by Anthony Smith portraying the naturalist's 1859 pursuit of the spectacular
Golden Birdwing butterfly was unveiled at the Natural History Museum, where many
thousands of the specimens collected by Wallace in his expeditions are housed and studied.
A prolific writer, during his lifetime Wallace published numerous essays as well as more than
20 books including The Malay Archipelago (1869), Darwinism (1889) and his autobiography
My Life (1905), as well as lesser-known works concerned with social criticism, Mesmerism,
Spiritualism and even, as late as 1907, his consideration of possible extraterrestrial life in Is
Mars Habitable?
Wallace, who lived to the great age of 90 was a pure scientist and never sought self-publicity. Ever modest concerning his own great achievements, Wallace famously remarked
to his editor that he had become rather tired of medals , although his correspondence
reveals otherwise.
Wallace's medals are offered by direct descent. A spokesman for the vendor said: "Our
family has had the pleasure and pride of owning these medals for over a century. However
we feel now is the time for us to make them available to others who will appreciate their
significance and the achievements of Alfred Russel Wallace as much as we do".
Included in the sale are a Royal Society Queen's Medal by William Wyon,
a Royal Geographical Society Founder's Medal, in gold, also by William Wyon, and the Royal Society Copley Medal, in gold. What a fantastic opportunity to acquire some of the world's highest awards for scientific accomplishment, designed by the world's top engravers, and awarded to one of the world's greatest scientists?
-Editor
For more information, see:
https://www.mortonandeden.com/
Wayne Homren, Editor
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promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
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