The Origin of Continents and Oceans

Description:

First English edition. Rare. A landmark scientific work by Alfred Lothar Wegener (1880-1930), a German climatologist, geologist, meteorologist, and polar researcher. Originally published in two scientific papers in German in 1915, a later in book form in 1915, this 1924 edition presents his groundbreaking theory of continental drift to an English-speaking audience. It was translated into English by J.G.A. Skerl, University of Liverpool and includes a foreword by John William Evans, then President of the Geological Society of London-an endorsement of Wegener’s theory. Wegener challenged conventional geological thinking by proposing that the continents were once a single landmass (Pangaea) and have since drifted apart. Though controversial at the time, his ideas would later reshape our understanding of the Earth’s dynamic crust, laying the foundation for modern plate tectonics.

Condition

8vo, orig. cloth, spine slightly faded, with minor wear to head/foot. Good. An interesting copy with bookplate of the Oxford University Extension Lectures Travelling Library. This was was a mobile collection of books which supported the Oxford University Extension movement, organised from Rewley House, Oxford. It aimed to bring higher education to people outside the university, particularly in towns and rural areas across England. The library selections were carefully curated by Oxford scholars and sent in boxes to accompany lecture series, offering access to quality reading materials for people who often had no access to public or academic libraries.