FIRST SCANDINAVIAN TRANSLATION

DARWIN, CHARLES.

Liv og Breve med et Kapitel Selvbiografi udgivne af hans Søn Francis Darwin. 3 vols.

Fagerstrand pr. Høvig, Bibliothek for de tusen hjem, (1889). 8vo. 3 vols in later printed full cloth. Bindings with light soiling and miscolouring to spines. All three volumes with ex-libris (Olga Siegfried Wagner). A fine set. (Frontispiece), 445, (1) pp.; (Frontispiece), 456 pp.; (Frontispiece), 488 pp.

The rare first Norwegian translation of Darwin's "The life and letters of Charles Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter" - being the first translation of any of Darwin's works into Norwegian ("Origin" was translated into Norwegian in 1890).
A complete Danish translation of the work has never been published and the first Swedish translation did not appear until 1959. Due to the similarities between Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, this edition in effect introduced Darwin's letters and autobiography to Scandinavia.

Martin Simon Søraas is listed as translator on all three title-pages whereas Freeman lists Peder Jacobsen Ulleland as having translated vol. 1. and Martin Simon Søraas as having translated vol. 2 and 3. Ulleland is listed in Freeman as having translated vol. 1 because he initiated a translation but only finished volume 1. Sørensen (the publisher) quickly discovered that Ulleland did not have the required skills as a translator and Sørensen fired him. Eventually Søraas was hired and he translated all three volumes.

Freeman 1528

Order-nr.: 50929