The naked ape

London: Jonathan Cape, 1967. SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Grey and green cloth with gilt title on spine, dustjacket clipped in all four corners with some ware to edges; book plate of Michael Overcash with inscription; signed “Best wishes from Demond Morris” on title page. A crisp and clean copy of this monumental work. Signed first edition. “Try as he may to ignore the genetic legacy of his evolutionary past, man remains – despite his erudition and inspirations – essentially a primate…The whole range of human activities, gestures and emotions becomes suddenly and embarrassingly transparent.” The naked ape is Morris’ most influential work. It was famously removed from high school libraries in New York and became the subject of a 1982 supreme court case.

Morris (b. 1928) is a zoologist, surrealist painter, and author of prominent works in sociobiology. Morris also worked as Head of the Granada TV and Film Unit for the Zoological Society of London creating programs on animal behavior.