Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species

Darwin at age 31 in 1840, recently married, a dignified young naturalist with a secret theory about evolution Photograph: PR

Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. Its first edition, in 1735, began the modernising of biological classification, eventually an important form of evidence for Charles Darwin Photograph: PR

Captain Robert Fitzroy's account of the voyage of HMS Beagle between 1831 and 1836, which provided Darwin with the foundations of his theory. Darwin's own account, The Voyage of the Beagle, full of wide-eyed observations, sold many more copies Photograph: Public domain

A page from one of Darwin's early 'transmutation' notebooks (1837-1838) in which he brainstormed his way to the idea of evolution by natural selection Photograph: PR

Joseph Hooker, Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin. Darwin shared his most dangerous thinking, before publication, with these two friends Photograph: PR

The outline or "Sketch" for On the Origin of Species. It remained unpublished until after Darwin's death, then drew attention as one of the first expressions of his theory Photograph: PR

The first edition of On the Origin of Species, 1859 Photograph: PR

Darwin's book on climbing plants, reprinted in 1875, gave Punch occasion for a complacent chortle. Photograph: PR

Cartoonist's images of Darwin tended to fixate on primate evolution, especially after the publication of The Descent of Man in 1871. For many people, it was a frightening idea Photograph: PR

More cartoon satire: 'A venerable Orang Outang' printed in the Hornet in 1872, and an 1874 edition of the London Sketch Book Photograph: PR

Darwin was a Vanity Fair man of the day Photograph: PR

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), Darwin's friend and one of his most dedicated public defenders Photograph: PR

A grand old man of science. Darwin aged 71, photographed a year before his death in 1882 Photograph: PR