An original cutting signed and dated by Charles Darwin 1871. This cutting has been mounted onto the free end part of the document which was written on vellum. This has been mounted and framed and is 29 cm by 29 cm in size and is mounted and framed in matching trim with dark wood and gold inner trim.Charles Robert Darwin ( 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalistand geologist best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors and in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.