Vertebrate Zoogeography & Evolution in Australasia. (Animals in Space & Time)

Hesperian Press, 1984. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1203 pages. 8-3/4 by 12 inches. 'A detailed work on the present state of our knowldge of the Australian vertebrate fauna and its origins and evolutionary history' -- from the forward by John Calaby. Printed from typescript. Illustrated in black-and-white. First edition (first printing). Corners lightly bumped and spine a bit pushed thus a near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a short tear at one corner. Association copy with a sweet inscription: 'To Steve Gould, with all the respect one human being could have for another (and as a bribe to try to persuade a forward out of you for the 2nd edition!). Cheers, Michael Archer.' From the Harvard office library of the paleontologist and leading advocate for evolution, Stephen Jay Gould. With a posthumous tipped in bookplate indicating the provenance. *** Intellectually, Gould understood the true nature of these bookplates, but the book collector in him appreciated them. In his essay 'A Seahorse for All Races' Gould writes about one of his prized possessions, a book from Charles Dickens' library: 'Dickens made no annotations, but a bookplate on the cover, presumably inserted as a come-on for a sale after Dickens' death in 1870, does prove that [he] kept and shelved the book.' *** We offer our Gould bookplates, printed letterpress in two colors, in the same spirit.