On November 24, the 150th anniversary of its publication, a first edition copy of British naturalist Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” will be auctioned.

Perhaps the most notable irreligious book ever written, ‘Origin of Species’ was published on November 24, 1859. Out of the 1,250 copies originally produced, one copy sold for £35,000 at an April auction in Norfolk.

The book which goes on sale on Tuesday will likely fetch nearly £60,000. It was purchased for a few shillings, nearly forty years back in a West Country shop, and was kept on a bookcase in a guest toilet at the owner’s family home in Oxfordshire.

The most radical scientific work of all times, the soon-to-be-auctioned book - “lightly bumped” around the corners - bears the original publisher’s green cloth cover and gilt-adorned spine, and has the full title “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.”

According to the information forwarded by Christie’s auction house, a picture of the book’s spine was recognized at a Darwin exhibition, by the present owner’s son-in-law. 

Noting that the person who bought the book was probably not aware of its value, Margaret Ford, Christie’s head of books and manuscripts, said: “It's incredibly important. He knew it [the book] was textually important. He maybe did not know how much of a bargain he was getting.”