• Colour drawing of a staged theatrical scene framed by two symmetrical classical structures with niches containing gilded statues, flanked by trees. At the centre, a painted backdrop shows an island within an archipelago, with a visible settlement; in the foreground, a vessel approaches the shore. Four figures stand before the backdrop holding branches and other objects. The composition is enclosed within a thin rectangular gold border.
cover detail from Evolution Before Darwin

Henry H. Cheek

Bill Jenkins introduces us to the short life and tragic death of Henry H. Cheek, a pre-Darwinian evolutionist. At the University of Edinburgh In many popular accounts of the theory of evolution the reader could be forgiven for coming away…