Special Collections Highlights International Darwin Day

International Darwin Day is Sunday, Feb. 12. This animated drawing of a "chimpanzee disappointed and sulky" by "Mr. Wood" is from Charles Darwin's "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals," Appleton and Company, 1897. Special Collections, Stony Brook University

“Chimpanzee disappointed and sulky,” 1897.

Among the rare books in Special Collections is Charles Darwin’s The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, published by Appleton and Company in 1897. International Darwin Day is Sunday, February 12 and commemorates the birth of Darwin in 1809. 

 

This animated drawing of a “chimpanzee disappointed and sulky” by Mr. (T.W.) Wood is one of the many sketches of animals in the book. Published thirteen years after On the Origin of Species, Darwin suggests that core expressions can be reduced to six categories: anger, fear, surprise, disgust, happiness and sadness. Also noteworthy: this is one of the first books to include photographs as illustrations.

 

Please visit the website for Special Collections and University Archives for more information about Stony Brook University Libraries’ unique and distinctive collections. 

Kristen Nyitray

Kristen Nyitray

Associate Librarian; Director, Special Collections and University Archives; and University Archivist at Stony Brook University Libraries
Contact her for research assistance with rare books, manuscript collections, historical maps, and SBU history. E-mail: kristen.nyitray@stonybrook.edu.
Kristen Nyitray
Posted in Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Special Collections & University Archives